Material Detriment - vesting

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Material Detriment - Vesting










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What is the Problem
Where the acquiring authority propose to take part of a property S8 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 gives the right for the Upper Tribunal to require them to purchase the whole if part cannot be taken without causing material detriment to the remainder. Schedule 1 of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981 dis-applies S8 and specifies a procedure that is different to that which would apply if notice to treat and notice of entry were used: The claimant has 28 days from the vesting date to serve a material detriment notice. Land does not vest nor can possession be taken until material detriment determined by the Tribunal or accepted by the acquiring authority. Determination by the Upper Tribunal as to whether there is  material detriment  could take approximately 2 years. This programme delay makes GVD of part of certain land an unacceptable programme risk for acquiring authorities unless, when they execute the GVD, they are prepared to acquire the whole at the outset. The consequence can be that title is not transferred at an appropriate timescale and finance is affected or not available. It is possible schemes could be delayed or threatened, and it can also lead to a process where, because title needs to be transferred by a certain time, large numbers of references have to be made to the Tribunal.

Aim
Remove the unnecessary hold on General Vesting. Declarations in material detriment situations.
What We Seek
Repeal of Schedule 1 of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981

Note from Discussion
It was generally not seen why Schedule 1 of the 1981 Act is drafted as it is. The overall assumption was that it was to make process of registration easier in that vesting would not take place until the whole of the unit of land to be vested was known.  

Next Steps/Actions
Amendment to Schedule 1 of the 1991 Act. Needed in next major reform package

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