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Chair Jonathan Stott's media release on Land Value Capture and Compulsory Purchase.
Stackyard wrote:
The UK’s leading compulsory purchase experts have welcomed the Government’s decision to scrap plans to change the legislation that covers the process.
The Government had faced calls for the Land Compensation Act 1961 to be changed to limit the compensation payable to dispossessed landowners in an attempt to capture more value from land to be developed for housing.
The Compulsory Purchase Association (CPA) is made up of professionals from across the sector who work on behalf of both authorities that exercise compulsory purchase powers and the land and property owners affected by the orders.
This mixture of members gives the CPA a perspective from both sides of the process and it argued that the changes being put forward would have had a damaging effect on the system and would hold back crucial development.
Jonathan Stott, who recently became chair of the CPA, said common sense had prevailed.
He said: “We understand that authorities want to secure more value from development – but trying to do it through compulsory purchase was the wrong way to go about it.
“The calls for change were not based on evidence or an understanding of the system and would have led to more hold-ups in development. It would have created greater resistance to compulsory purchase orders and, therefore, resulted in land assembly taking even longer.
“The Government was under pressure to make changes to the system but the CPA submitted evidence to the select committee that looked at the issue, correcting misconceptions about how the process currently works, and explaining the detrimental affect the changes would have.
“So we are pleased that the Government has listened and not rushed into making changes that might have won them political favour but would have damaged the way the system works currently.
“What is clear from this process is that there is not enough understanding of the way compulsory purchase works and what it is actually designed to do in support of crucial development.
“Ultimately, the system is designed to facilitate development but it is right that landowners who are dispossessed are fairly compensated, based on the market value of their land.
“We, therefore, welcome the commitment to update information on the process and be more transparent on inspectors’ decisions when it comes to compulsory purchase so that there is greater understanding of the system.”
Read the full article online here.