Compulsory purchase reform discussion in House of Commons

Debate on the Housing and Planning Bill in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon: The CLA has worked with Bob Neill MP to encourage the Government to take the opportunity to make meaningful changes to the compulsory purchase system in the proposed Housing and Planning Bill.

CLA President Ross Murray said: “We are pleased that Bob Neill MP has highlighted a number of important amendments in the Housing and Planning Bill debate, encouraging the Government to make the compulsory purchase system fairer. We welcome the Government’s commitment to meet with Bob Neill and the CLA to discuss these amendments further.”

Mr Murray commented on three specific amendments that were proposed by Bob Neill MP:

On Interest on Late Payments:

“Government has proposed introducing an interest rate of two percent above base rate when the compensation due to landowners for compulsory purchase is late. This is well below commercial rates of lending. The CLA has put forward proposals that would set the rate at eight percent, in line with interest rates on late commercial payments, which would be a fairer approach.”

On Advance Payments:

“It is only fair that compensation should be paid to farmers and landowners in advance of the acquiring authority entering their property. Where this does not happen it can be impossible for the landowner to run their business, especially if they need to purchase replacement land. The amendment highlighted in today’s debate would establish beyond doubt that compensation must be paid in advance of entry and that landowners should not be left in the position of losing land without having been paid for it.”

On a Duty of Care:

“We have been calling for a Duty of Care to be put in place to ensure that those losing land or property receive fair treatment from the acquiring authority. This would include the acquiring authority having to act transparently in negotiations, and having to minimise the impact on claimants and their immediate neighbours.”