Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

Amendment No. 356A would try to enhance the negotiating position of the landowner where either Natural England or the Countryside Council for Wales was seeking to compulsorily purchase land where it was necessary to do so to conserve a specially vulnerable site. The amendment addresses a perceived problem with existing compulsory purchase procedures, attempts to set specific timelines for negotiations and seeks to improve the cash flow position for any landowner who wishes to get an independent final ruling on the fair price for the land from the Lands Tribunal. There are already well established procedures for dealing with such negotiations and advance payments under the Land Compensation Act 1973, as recently enhanced by the Planning and Compensation Act 2004, for advance payments to be made while the final payment is subject to determination by the tribunal. The advance payment provisions in the 1973 Act enable 90 per cent of the acquiring authority’s estimate of the compensation due to be paid within three months of the claimant’s written request. This, combined with the fact that under the terms of Section 1 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 interest is payable from the date on which the authority enters and takes possession until the outstanding compensation is paid, would at first sight seem to offer sufficient safeguards to ensure that landowners are not disadvantaged. Additionally, the proposed amendment would represent an exception to the provisions that apply for land that is not within an SSSI. We can at present see no justification for treating landowners whose land is acquired under Section 15A of the Countryside Act 1968 differently from those whose land is compulsorily purchased for other reasons under other compulsory purchase powers. If an exception is made in this case, this would make for inconsistency between acquiring authorities under different legislative regimes. We do not think that can be right. In any event the 60 days mentioned is a very short period for agreeing the amount of compensation. Sometimes this can be a complex process and could take much longer. I hope that answer satisfies the noble Baroness.