97 Effect of counter-notice under section 96.S
(1)If the acquiring authority do not within the period of 2 months beginning with the date of service of a counter-notice under section 96 agree in writing to accept the counter-notice as valid, the claimant or the authority may, within 2 months after the end of that period, refer it to the Lands Tribunal.
(2)On such a reference the Lands Tribunal shall determine whether the claim in the counter-notice is justified and declare the counter-notice valid or invalid accordingly.
(3)Where a counter-notice is accepted as valid under subsection (1) or declared to be valid under subsection (2), the acquiring authority shall be deemed—
(a)to be authorised to acquire compulsorily the interest of the claimant in the land to which the requirement in the counter-notice relates under the same provision of this Chapter as they are authorised to acquire the other land in the agricultural unit in question, and
(b)to have served a notice to treat in respect of that land on the date on which notice to treat is deemed to have been served under that provision.
(4)A claimant may withdraw a counter-notice at any time before the compensation payable in respect of a compulsory acquisition in pursuance of the counter-notice has been determined by the Lands Tribunal or at any time before the end of 6 weeks beginning with the date on which it is determined.
(5)Where a counter-notice is withdrawn by virtue of subsection (4) any notice to treat deemed to have been served in consequence of it shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
(6)Without prejudice to subsection (5), a notice to treat deemed to have been served by virtue of this section may not be withdrawn under section 39 of the M1Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1963.
(7)The compensation payable in respect of the acquisition of an interest in land in pursuance of a notice to treat deemed to have been served by virtue of this section shall be assessed on the assumptions mentioned in section 5(2), (3) and (4) of the M2Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1973.
(8)Where by virtue of this section the acquiring authority become or will become entitled to a lease of any land but not to the interest of the lessor—
(a)the authority shall offer to renounce the lease to the lessor on such terms as the authority consider reasonable,
(b)the question of what is reasonable may be referred to the Lands Tribunal by the authority or the lessor and, if at the expiration of the period of 3 months after the date of the offer mentioned in paragraph (a) the authority and the lessor have not agreed on the question and that question has not been referred to the Tribunal by the lessor, it shall be so referred by the authority, and
(c)if that question is referred to the Tribunal, the lessor shall be deemed—
(i)to have accepted the renunciation of the lease at the expiry of one month after the date of the determination of the Tribunal or on such other date as the Tribunal may direct, and
(ii)to have agreed with the authority on the terms of surrender which the Tribunal has held to be reasonable.
(9)For the purposes of subsection (8) any terms as to renunciation contained in the lease shall be disregarded.
(10)Where the lessor—
(a)refuses to accept any sum payable to him by virtue of subsection (8), or
(b)refuses or fails to make out his title to the satisfaction of the acquiring authority,
they may pay into the bank within the meaning of section 3 of the M3Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845 any such sum payable to the lessor and sections 75, 76, 77 and 79 of that Act shall apply to that sum with the necessary modifications.
(11)Where an acquiring authority who become entitled to the lease of any land as mentioned in subsection (8) are a body incorporated by or under any enactment, the corporate powers of the authority shall, if they would not otherwise do so, include the power to farm that land.