Highways Act 1980

248 Acquisition in advance of requirements. E+W+S+N.I.

(1) Any power of the Minister under any of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act, other than sections 240 and 246 to acquire by agreement land required for a purpose mentioned in the provision in question is exercisable in respect of any land which, in the opinion of the Minister, may be required for that purpose, notwithstanding that the land is not immediately required for that purpose.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, where under any provision of this Act specified in column 1 of Schedule 17 to this Act a highway authority have power to acquire, or have acquired, land (“the initial stage area”) for a purpose specified in column 2 of that Schedule, then any power of the authority under this Act to acquire land compulsorily for a purpose specified in column 3 is, in the case of other land adjacent to the initial stage area (“the subsequent stage area”), exercisable by them notwithstanding that the other land is not immediately required for the purpose specified in column 3.

(3) A highway authority shall not acquire land compulsorily by virtue of subsection (2) above unless one or more of the following conditions are satisfied, namely—

(a) the authority intend, when they have acquired the subsequent stage area, forthwith to incorporate it within the boundaries of the highway or proposed highway or, as the case may be, of the service area, maintenance compound, trunk road picnic area or lorry area, for the purposes of which the initial stage area is to be, or has been, acquired;

(b) the authority’s proposed use of the initial stage area involves the carrying out of works wholly or partly on, or under or over, the subsequent stage area;

(c) plans for the use of the subsequent stage area (for the purpose for which the authority have power by virtue of this section to acquire it) have been made or approved by the Minister.

(4) A highway authority shall not by virtue of subsection (2) above acquire land compulsorily for any purpose where, apart from this section, they would not have power to acquire it compulsorily if it were required immediately for that purpose.