Resisting compulsory purchase orders
Timothy Pugh, head of planning and environment at law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, looks at the options for businesses threatened with compulsory purchase orders on their land.
The problem
Your local authority has just announced that it intends to buy your hotel's car park, either through agreed sale or compulsory purchase order (CPO), as part of a scheme to redevelop and regenerate the neighbourhood. It plans to use the land as the location of a transport interchange between trams, buses and taxis. As parking is heavily restricted in the area and the hotel relies heavily on travelling businessmen, the loss of the car park threatens the hotel's continued success.
The law
Planning applications are governed by the Town and Country Planning Act 1991, CPOs by the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. It is possible that the Transport and Works Act 1992 may also apply.
A landowner whose land is subject to development proposals must receive formal notice of the planning application when lodged. If a CPO including his hotel or car park is promoted, he must receive formal notice of that, too. At these formal stages - as well as any earlier pre-application consultation stages - he will be able to object.
If the landowner does object to the CPO and does not withdraw his objection, a public inquiry must be held into the CPO.
If the land is bought through a CPO, the hotel owner will be entitled to statutory compensation.
Expert advice
Government policy strongly supports urban regeneration projects. It urges local authorities to use CPO powers to facilitate them wherever necessary, and is heavily biased against the car in favour of public transport. The scenario faced by the hotel is therefore serious.
To attempt to combat the situation, the hotel owner should focus on securing alterations to the council's proposals so as to keep the car park. If this is not possible, he should try to maximise the payment he will receive for the land, whether on CPO or through sale without compulsory purchase.
These objectives should be pursued through negotiation and statutory objection processes, and professional help should be sought for this. Major hotel and leisure chains usually have estates personnel who can help. Otherwise, specialist surveyors, town planning consultants or planning solicitors can be instructed. The council will take a hotel owner more seriously if he is professionally represented.
Even after planning permission has been granted, a landowner can buy time by objecting to the CPO. Landowner objections will cause delay to a CPO: unless the objection can be removed by the council, a public inquiry is mandatory. Objections can therefore be used as a negotiating lever to prompt change, to secure an improved compensation offer or to extend your trading period without the loss of your land.
Beware!
Failure to observe time limits for objections can be fatal to your right to maintain an objection and to your prospects of succeeding.
Checklist
- Be proactive in your approach. Local authorities and developers can be persuaded to change their proposals. The best chance of doing so is before applications for planning permission are made.
- Object at the appropriate time. The process of objecting to planning applications and CPOs can be long and drawn out, so doing so at the right time is vital to a landowner objector's chances of success. Failure to object at the appropriate time can prejudice the process against a landowner objector.
- Get valuation advice in negotiations. This is essential, as statutory compensation is often inadequate.
Contacts
Berwin Leighton Paisner 020 7760 4477
timothy.pugh@berwinleightonpaisner.com
Royal Town Planning Institute 020 7929 9494
