Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Duties of authorities on service of purchase notice

139 Action by council on whom purchase notice is served

(1) The council on whom a purchase notice is served shall serve on the owner by whom the purchase notice was served a notice (a “response notice”) stating either—

(a) that the council are willing to comply with the purchase notice; or

(b) that another local authority or statutory undertakers specified in the response notice have agreed to comply with it in their place; or

(c) that for reasons so specified the council are not willing to comply with the purchase notice and have not found any other local authority or statutory undertakers who will agree to comply with it in their place, and that they have sent the Secretary of State a copy of the purchase notice and of the response notice.

(2) A response notice must be served before the end of the period of three months beginning with the date of service of the purchase notice.

(3) Where the council on whom a purchase notice is served by an owner have served a response notice on him in accordance with subsection (1)(a) or (b), the council or, as the case may be, the other local authority or statutory undertakers specified in the response notice shall be deemed—

(a) to be authorised to acquire the interest of the owner compulsorily in accordance with the relevant provisions, and

(b) to have served a notice to treat in respect of it on the date of service of the response notice.

(4) Where the council propose to serve such a response notice as is mentioned in subsection (1)(c), they must first send the Secretary of State a copy—

(a) of the proposed response notice, and

(b) of the purchase notice.

(5) A notice to treat which is deemed to have been served by virtue of subsection (3)(b) may not be withdrawn under section 31 of the [1961 c. 33.] Land Compensation Act 1961.

140 Procedure on reference of purchase notice to Secretary of State

(1) Where a copy of a purchase notice is sent to the Secretary of State under section 139(4), he shall consider whether to confirm the notice or to take other action under section 141 in respect of it.

(2) Before confirming a purchase notice or taking such other action, the Secretary of State must give notice of his proposed action—

(a) to the person who served the purchase notice;

(b) to the council on whom it was served;

(c) outside Greater London—

(i) to the county planning authority and also, where that authority is a joint planning board, to the county council; and

(ii) if the district council on whom the purchase notice in question was served is a constituent member of a joint planning board, to that board; and

(d) if the Secretary of State proposes to substitute any other local authority or statutory undertakers for the council on whom the notice was served, to them.

(3) A notice under subsection (2) shall specify the period (which must not be less than 28 days from its service) within which any of the persons on whom it is served may require the Secretary of State to give those persons an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, a person appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose.

(4) If within that period any of those persons so require, before the Secretary of State confirms the purchase notice or takes any other action under section 141 in respect of it he must give those persons such an opportunity.

(5) If, after any of those persons have appeared before and been heard by the appointed person, it appears to the Secretary of State to be expedient to take action under section 141 otherwise than in accordance with the notice given by him, the Secretary of State may take that action accordingly.

141 Action by Secretary of State in relation to purchase notice

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 142(3), if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the conditions specified in subsection (3) or, as the case may be, subsection (4) of section 137 are satisfied in relation to a purchase notice, he shall confirm the notice.

(2) If it appears to the Secretary of State to be expedient to do so, he may, instead of confirming the purchase notice—

(a) in the case of a notice served on account of the refusal of planning permission, grant planning permission for the development in question;

(b) in the case of a notice served on account of planning permission for development being granted subject to conditions, revoke or amend those conditions so far as appears to him to be required in order to enable the land to be rendered capable of reasonably beneficial use by the carrying out of that development;

(c) in the case of a notice served on account of the revocation of planning permission by an order under section 97, cancel the order;

(d) in the case of a notice served on account of the modification of planning permission by such an order by the imposition of conditions, revoke or amend those conditions so far as appears to him to be required in order to enable the land to be rendered capable of reasonably beneficial use by the carrying out of the development in respect of which the permission was granted; or

(e) in the case of a notice served on account of the making of an order under section 102 or paragraph 1 of Schedule 9, revoke the order or, as the case may be, amend the order so far as appears to him to be required in order to prevent the land from being rendered incapable of reasonably beneficial use by the order.

(3) If it appears to the Secretary of State that the land, or any part of the land, could be rendered capable of reasonably beneficial use within a reasonable time by the carrying out of any other development for which planning permission ought to be granted, he may, instead of confirming the purchase notice, or, as the case may be, of confirming it so far as it relates to that part of the land, direct that, if an application for planning permission for that development is made, it must be granted.

(4) If it appears to the Secretary of State, having regard to the probable ultimate use of the land, that it is expedient to do so, he may, if he confirms the notice, modify it, either in relation to the whole or any part of the land, by substituting another local authority or statutory undertakers for the council on whom the notice was served.

(5) Any reference in section 140 to the taking of action by the Secretary of State under this section includes a reference to the taking by him of a decision not to confirm the purchase notice either on the grounds that any of the conditions referred to in subsection (1) are not satisfied or by virtue of section 142.

142 Power to refuse to confirm purchase notice where land has restricted use by virtue of previous planning permission

(1) This section applies where a purchase notice is served in respect of land which consists in whole or in part of land which has a restricted use by virtue of an existing planning permission.

(2) For the purposes of this section, land is to be treated as having a restricted use by virtue of an existing planning permission if it is part of a larger area in respect of which planning permission has previously been granted (and has not been revoked) and either—

(a) it remains a condition of the planning permission (however expressed) that that part shall remain undeveloped or be preserved or laid out in a particular way as amenity land in relation to the remainder; or

(b) the planning permission was granted on an application which contemplated (expressly or by necessary implication) that the part should not be comprised in the development for which planning permission was sought, or should be preserved or laid out as mentioned in paragraph (a).

(3) Where a copy of the purchase notice is sent to the Secretary of State under section 139(4), he need not confirm the notice under section 141(1) if it appears to him that the land having a restricted use by virtue of an existing planning permission ought, in accordance with that permission, to remain undeveloped or, as the case may be, remain or be preserved or laid out as amenity land in relation to the remainder of the large area for which that planning permission was granted.

143 Effect of Secretary of State’s action in relation to purchase notice

(1) Where the Secretary of State confirms a purchase notice—

(a) the council on whom the purchase notice was served, or

(b) if under section 141(4) the Secretary of State modified the purchase notice by substituting another local authority or statutory undertakers for that council, that other authority or those undertakers,

shall be deemed to be authorised to acquire the interest of the owner compulsorily in accordance with the relevant provisions, and to have served a notice to treat in respect of it on such date as the Secretary of State may direct.

(2) If, before the end of the relevant period, the Secretary of State has neither—

(a) confirmed the purchase notice, nor

(b) taken any such action in respect of it as is mentioned in section 141(2) or (3), nor

(c) notified the owner by whom the notice was served that he does not propose to confirm the notice,

the notice shall be deemed to be confirmed at the end of that period, and the council on whom the notice was served shall be deemed to be authorised as mentioned in subsection (1) and to have served a notice to treat in respect of the owner’s interest at the end of that period.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), for the purposes of subsection (2) the relevant period is—

(a) the period of nine months beginning with the date of service of the purchase notice; or

(b) if it ends earlier, the period of six months beginning with the date on which a copy of the purchase notice was sent to the Secretary of State.

(4) The relevant period does not run if the Secretary of State has before him at the same time both—

(a) a copy of the purchase notice sent to him under section 139(4); and

(b) a notice of appeal under section 78, 174 or 195 of this Act or under section 20 or 39 of the Planning [1990 c. 9.] (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (appeals against refusal of listed building consent, etc. and appeals against listed building enforcement notices) or under section 21 [1990 c. 10.] of the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 (appeals against decisions and failure to take decisions relating to hazardous substances) relating to any of the land to which the purchase notice relates.

(5) Where—

(a) the Secretary of State has notified the owner by whom a purchase notice has been served of a decision on his part to confirm, or not to confirm, the notice; and

(b) that decision is quashed under Part XII,

the purchase notice shall be treated as cancelled, but the owner may serve a further purchase notice in its place.

(6) The reference in subsection (5) to a decision to confirm, or not to confirm, the purchase notice includes—

(a) any decision not to confirm the notice in respect of any part of the land to which it relates, and

(b) any decision to grant any permission, or give any direction, instead of confirming the notice, either wholly or in part.

(7) For the purposes of determining whether a further purchase notice under subsection (5) was served within the period prescribed for the service of purchase notices, the planning decision in consequence of which the notice was served shall be treated as having been made on the date on which the decision of the Secretary of State was quashed.

(8) A notice to treat which is deemed to have been served by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) may not be withdrawn under section 31 of the [1961 c. 33.] Land Compensation Act 1961.