Housing Act 1974

Sections 50 and 51.

SCHEDULE 5 General Improvement Areas

PART I Sections to be Substituted for [1969 c. 33.] Housing Act 1969, Section 28

28 (1) Where a report with respect to a predominantly residential area within the district of a local authority is submitted to them by a person or persons appearing to the authority to be suitably qualified (whether or not that person is or those persons include an officer of the authority) and it appears to the authority, upon consideration of the report and of any other information in their possession, that living conditions in the area can most appropriately be improved by the improvement of the amenities of the area or dwellings therein or both and that such an improvement may be effected or assisted by the exercise of their powers under this Act, the authority may cause the area to be defined on a map and by a resolution (in this section referred to as a " preliminary resolution ") declare their intention that the area should become a general improvement area in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) If a local authority have passed a preliminary resolution with respect to any area, they may, subject to the following provisions of this section, proceed by a further resolution (in this section referred to as a " confirmatory resolution ") to confirm the preliminary resolution and to declare the area to be a general improvement area ; and in relation to a confirmatory resolution or a proposed confirmatory resolution, " the relevant preliminary resolution " means the preliminary resolution confirmed or, as the case may be, proposed to be confirmed, by the confirmatory resolution.

(3) A local authority may not proceed to pass a confirmatory resolution with respect to the area to which the relevant preliminary resolution relates (in the following provisions of this section referred to as " the proposed general improvement area ") unless, within the period of six months beginning with the date on which the relevant preliminary resolution was passed, they notify the Secretary of State in writing of their intention to do so and send to him—

(a) a copy of the relevant preliminary resolution ;

(b) a copy of the map defining the proposed general improvement area;

(c) a copy of the report referred to in subsection (1) above, the consideration of which led to the passing of the relevant preliminary resolution; and

(d) such other information and documents as the Secretary of State may direct with respect to general improvement areas generally.

(4) On receipt of a notification or of any other document or information sent to him under subsection (3) above with respect to a proposed general improvement area, the Secretary of State shall send a written acknowledgment to the authority by whom the notification or other document was sent and, if it appears to him to be appropriate to do so, he may, at any time within the appropriate period, send a notification to the authority—

(a) that they may not pass a confirmatory resolution with respect to the proposed general improvement area ; or

(b) that he requires more time to consider the proposed declaration of that area as a general improvement area.

(5) Where the Secretary of State notifies a local authority as mentioned in subsection (4)(b) above, he shall, on completion of his consideration of the matter, send a further notification to the authority—

(a) that they may not pass a confirmatory resolution with respect to the proposed general improvement area ; or

(b) that they are at liberty to proceed to pass such a resolution.

(6) Without prejudice to subsection (3) above, if—

(a) a local authority have notified the Secretary of State as mentioned in that subsection with respect to a proposed general improvement area but are not yet able to proceed to pass a confirmatory resolution with respect to it, and

(b) the Secretary of State, by a direction given with respect to that particular area, so requires,

the local authority shall send to him such other information and documents with respect to that area as may be specified in the direction.

(7) In this section " the appropriate period", in relation to the proposed general improvement area to which a preliminary resolution relates, means the period—

(a) of 28 days or such longer period as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument specify for the purposes of this subsection, and

(b) beginning on the date on which the acknowledgment or, as the case may be, the last acknowledgment of any document or information with respect to that proposed general improvement area was sent to the local authority concerned under subsection (4) above.

(8) In any case where a local authority have passed a preliminary resolution and, in accordance with subsection (3) above, have sent to the Secretary of State a notification and other documents relating to the proposed general improvement area, they may not proceed to pass a confirmatory resolution with respect to that area—

(a) before the expiry of the appropriate period, and

(b) if the Secretary of State notifies them as mentioned in subsection (4)(b) above, unless and until they are notified as mentioned in subsection (5)(b) above,

but if the authority are notified as mentioned in subsection (4)(a) or subsection (5)(a) above, no resolution confirming that preliminary resolution may be passed with respect to the proposed general improvement area.

28A Publicity for, and information with respect to, general improvement area.

As soon as may be after the passing of a confirmatory resolution, within the meaning of section 28 of this Act, declaring an area to be a general improvement area, the local authority shall—

(a) publish in two or more newspapers circulating in the locality (of which one at least shall, if practicable, be a local newspaper) a notice of the resolution identifying the area and naming a place or places where a copy of the resolution, of the map on which the area is defined and of the report mentioned in section 28(1) of this Act may be inspected at all reasonable times;

(b) take such further steps as may appear to them best designed to secure that the resolution is brought to the attention of persons residing or owning property within the area and that those persons are informed of the name and address of the person to whom any enquiries and representations concerning any action to be taken in the exercise of the local authority's powers under this Part of this Act should be addressed; and

(c) send to the Secretary of State a copy of the resolution and a statement of the number of dwellings in the area.

PART II Other Amendments of Part II of [1969 c. 33.] Housing Act 1969

1 After section 29 of the Housing Act 1969 there shall be inserted the following sections:—

“29A Housing action areas excluded from general improvement areas.

A general improvement area shall not be so defined as to include (but may be so defined as to surround) any land which is for the time being comprised in a housing action area declared under Part IV of the Housing Act 1974.

29B Incorporation of priority neighbourhoods into general improvement areas.

(1) If a local authority propose, by a preliminary resolution under section 28(1) of this Act, to declare their intention that an area should become a general improvement area and that area consists of or includes land which, immediately prior to the declaration, is comprised in a priority neighbourhood declared under Part VI of the Housing Act 1974, they shall indicate on the map referred to in the said section 28(1) the land which is so comprised (in this section referred to as "priority land").

(2) If a local authority, by a confirmatory resolution under section 28(2) of this Act, confirm a preliminary resolution and declare as a general improvement area an area which, immediately prior to the declaration, consists of or includes priority land, then, with effect from the date on which the confirmatory resolution is passed, the priority land shall be deemed, as the case may require, either—

(a) to have ceased to be a priority neighbourhood by virtue of a resolution passed on that date under section 39(3) of the Housing Act 1974 (as it applies in relation to such a neighbourhood by virtue of section 54 of that Act); or

(b) to have been excluded from the priority neighbourhood concerned by virtue of a resolution passed on that date under section 40(1) of that Act (as it applies in relation to such a neighbourhood by virtue of the said section 54).”

2 (1) In section 30 of that Act (changes with respect to general improvement area) after subsection (1) there shall be inserted the following subsection:—

“(1A) In any case where, by virtue of a resolution under subsection (1) above, any land is excluded from a general improvement area or, as the case may be, an area ceases to be a general improvement area, the resolution shall not affect the continued operation of this Part of this Act and of any other provision relating to general improvement areas in relation to any works which have been begun before the date on which the resolution takes effect, but, subject thereto, the exclusion or cessation shall apply with respect to the approval before that date of any expenditure in respect of works which have not been begun before that date.”

(2) Subsections (2) and (3) of that section (power of local authority by resolution to include land adjoining a general improvement area in that area) shall cease to have effect.

3 In section 32 of that Act (general powers exercisable by local authority in general improvement area) in subsection (5) (nothing in section 32 to enable a local authority to make any grant where such a grant might be made under Part I of that Act) for the words " Part I of this Act" there shall be substituted the words " Part VII of the Housing Act 1974 ".

4 (1) After subsection (5) of section 37 of that Act (power of Secretary of State by order to alter the maximum of the aggregate expenditure of local authorities which can be approved for the purposes of his contribution in respect of a general improvement area) there shall be inserted the following subsection:—

“(5A) Without prejudice to subsection (5) above, the Secretary of State may direct that, in the case of a particular general improvement area or any description of general improvement area, subsection (4) above shall have effect as if for the amount of £100 mentioned in that subsection, or such other amount as may for the time being be substituted for that amount under subsection (5) above, there were substituted a greater amount.”

(2) In subsection (7) of that section (for purposes of contributions by Secretary of State to local authorities towards expenditure in general improvement areas, certain expenditure by housing association to be treated as that of local authority) there shall be inserted before the words " housing association " , in the first and third places where they occur, the word " registered" and at the end of that subsection there shall be added the following subsection:—

“(8) In subsection (7) of this section ' registered housing association ' means a housing association registered in the register of housing associations established under section 13 of the Housing Act 1974”.

5 In subsection (2) of section 40 of that Act (in relation to land in a general improvement area declared by them, the Greater London Council is to be deemed to be the local authority for certain purposes and certain functions are to be exerciseable by other authorities only after consultation with the Greater London Council) in paragraph

(a) , for the words " sections 17 to 22 and 74 of this Act", there shall be substituted the words " section 74 of this Act and section 79 of the Housing Act " 1974 ", the words " Part I of this Act other than sections 17 to 22 " shall be omitted and for the words " and Part II of the Act of 1957 " there shall be substituted the words " Part II of the Act of 1957 and Part VII of the Housing Act 1974 other than section 79 " ; and in paragraph (b), for the words from " section 19 " to " that Act" there shall be substituted the words " or Part IV of the Housing Act 1964 ".