Town and Country Planning Act 1944
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1944 c. 47 |
| Year | 1944 |
Town and Country Planning Act, 1944
(7 & 8 Geo. 6.) 47.
An Act to make provision for the acquisition and development of land for planning purposes; for amending the law relating to town and country planning; for assessing by reference to 1939 prices compensation payable in connection with the acquisition of land for public purposes, and as to the rate of interest thereon; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
[17th November 1944]
B E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I.
Town and Country Planning.
Areas of extensive war damage: acquisition of land, and grants towards expenses of acquisition and clearing.
1 Designation of areas of extensive war damage, and of land needed for re-location of population and industries of such areas.
(1) Where the Minister of Town and Country Planning (in this Act referred to as ‘the Minister’) is satisfied that it is requisite, for the purpose of dealing satisfactorily with extensive war damage in the area of a local planning authority, that a part or parts of their area, consisting of land shown to his satisfaction to have sustained war damage or of such land together with other land contiguous or adjacent thereto, should be laid out afresh and redeveloped as a whole, an order declaring all or any of the land in such a part of their area to be land subject to compulsory purchase for dealing with war damage may be made by the Minister if an application in that behalf is made to him by the authority before the expiration of five years from such date as the Minister may by order appoint as being the date when the making of such applications has become practicable.
A part of the area of a local planning authority as to which the Minister is satisfied as aforesaid is in this Act referred to as an ‘area of extensive war damage’.
(2) Where the Minister is satisfied that land is or will be required for the purpose of providing for re-location of population or industry, or for replacement of open space, in the course of the redevelopment of a part of the area of a local planning authority being an area of extensive war damage, he may, if an application in that behalf is made to him by the authority before the expiration of five years from the date appointed under the preceding subsection, make an order declaring any land which ought in his opinion to be made available for that purpose to be land subject to compulsory purchase for that purpose.
In this Act the expression ‘re-location of population or industry’ means, in relation to an area of extensive war damage, rendering available elsewhere than in that area, whether in an existing community or in a community to be newly established, accommodation for residential purposes or for the carrying on of business or other activities, together with all appropriate public services, facilities for public worship, recreation and amenity, and other requirements, being accommodation to be rendered available for persons or undertakings who are living or carrying on business or other activities in that area or who were doing so but by reason of war circumstances are no longer for the time being doing so, and whose continued or resumed location in that area would be inconsistent with the proper planning thereof; and the expression ‘replacement of open space’ means, in relation to an area of extensive war damage, rendering land available for use as an open space or otherwise in an undeveloped state in substitution for land in that area which is so used.
(3) Where it appears to the Minister that, having regard to all the circumstances, a local planning authority will, at some future date falling not earlier than two years after the date appointed under subsection (1) of this section, have had sufficient time for the submission of applications for orders under subsection (1) of this section, he may notify the local planning authority accordingly, and if he so notifies them he shall not be required to consider any such application made by them after that date:
Provided that before the Minister gives a notification under this subsection he shall inform the local planning authority of his intention so to do and afford them an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by him for the purpose.
(4) Where a local planning authority have taken into consideration for the purposes of this section the question of the laying out afresh and redevelopment as a whole of a part of their area, or the question of providing in any locality for re-location of population or industry or for replacement of open space, they shall publish in one or more newspapers circulating in their area a notice stating that they are considering the said question and describing in general terms the situation of the part of their area or the locality, and shall not make an application for an order under this section as respects that part of their area or that locality, as the case may be, before the expiration of two months from the date on which a notice has been published or first published in relation thereto in pursuance of this subsection.
(5) An application for an order under this section shall designate the land to which the application relates by reference to a map or maps annexed thereto, either with or without descriptive matter (which, in the case of any discrepancy with the map or maps, shall prevail except in so far as may be otherwise provided by the application), and subject as aforesaid shall be in such form as may be prescribed.
(6) An application for an order under this section shall be accompanied by such statement, illustrated by such map or maps, as the authority consider requisite for indicating the manner in which it is intended that the land in the area of extensive war damage, or the land as to which they seek an order declaring it to be subject to compulsory purchase for providing for re-location of population or industry, or for replacement of open space, in the course of the redevelopment of such an area, should be laid out as respects its internal arrangement and in relation to the existing or intended lay-out of the surrounding locality, and the manner in which it is intended that such land should be used whether for purposes requiring the carrying out of development or otherwise.
(7) If the Minister is satisfied that the particulars appearing from the application and the statement are adequate for enabling the expediency of the making of an order to be properly considered, he shall notify the authority that he is so satisfied and thereupon they shall—
(a ) publish by Gazette and local advertisement a notice in the prescribed form describing the land to which the application relates, stating that an application under this section has been submitted to the Minister in relation thereto and is about to be considered by him, naming a place where a copy of the application and of the map or maps and any descriptive matter annexed thereto, and of the statement and map or maps illustrating it submitted to him, may be seen at all reasonable hours, and specifying the time (not being less than twenty-eight days from the first local advertisement) within which, and the manner in which, objections to the application may be made; and
(b ) serve a like notice on such persons as the Minister may specify whether individually or as members of a class of persons;
and the provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect in relation to the application if any objection thereto is duly made.
(8) Subject to the provisions of the said Schedule in a case in which those provisions have effect in relation to the application, the Minister may make an order in accordance therewith either without modification or with any modification except (unless all persons interested consent) a modification extending the order to any land not thereby designated.
(9) Where the Minister proposes to make an order in accordance with an application with any modification, he shall furnish to the authority a statement of the proposed modification, and may, if he thinks fit, give to the authority directions requiring them to publish by Gazette and local advertisement, or to serve on such persons, or on all persons of such classes, as may be specified in the directions, or both to publish and serve as aforesaid, such notice of the proposed modification as may be therein specified.
(10) An order under this section shall designate the land to which it relates in the manner specified in subsection (5) of this section, and that subsection shall have effect accordingly with the substitution of references to the order for references to the application.
(11) As soon as may be after such an order has been made, the authority on whose application the order was made shall publish by Gazette and local advertisement a notice in the prescribed form stating that the order has been made and naming a place where a copy of the order and of the map or maps and any descriptive matter annexed thereto may be seen at all reasonable hours, and shall serve a like notice on any person who has duly made an objection to the application and at the time of making it or thereafter has sent to the authority a request in writing to serve him with the notice required by this subsection specifying an address for service, and on such other persons as the Minister may specify whether individually or as members of a class of persons.
(12) Where an authority who have published a notice under subsection (4) of this...
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