15Acquisition of land by new town commissions.N.I.
(1)The power of a new town commission to acquire land under section 19(1)( a)(iv) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 M1 shall be exercisable only with the approval of the Ministry.
(2)The power of a new town commission to acquire land for their development functions shall include power, exercisable in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this section, to acquire compulsorily—
(a)any land within the area designated by an order made under section 1 as the site of the new town, being land which, in the opinion of the new town commission, is required for purposes connected with the development of the new town (other than land within any portion of the said area distinguished under paragraph 1( b) of Part I of Schedule 1 that has been acquired by the Ministry under section 4);
(b)any other land, whether within the said area or not, which in the opinion of the new town commission is required for the provision of services for the purposes of the new town.
(3)For the purposes of the compulsory acquisition of any land under subsection (2) the new town commission may apply to the Ministry for an order (in this section referred to as a “vesting order” ) vesting in them the fee simple or any lesser estate in that land, and—
(a)on any such application the Ministry may make the vesting order for which the new town commission applied either in respect of the whole of the land or in respect of any portion thereof; and
(b)on an application for an order vesting the fee simple of any land in the new town commission the Ministry may make a vesting order vesting in them such lesser estate in the land or in any portion thereof as may be specified in the vesting order.
(4)Section 22(2) of and Schedule 2 to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1934 [1934 c.22] shall, subject to the modifications thereof specified in Schedule 5, apply for the purposes of the acquisition of land by means of a vesting order made under subsection (3).
(5)For the purposes of this section and of the application for such purposes of the enactments applied by this section, the interest of a grantee under a fee farm grant shall be deemed to be a lesser estate than a fee simple.
(6)The provisions of section 4(4), (5) and (6) shall have effect for the purposes of this section in like manner as they have effect for the purposes of the said section 4, and as if for references therein to that section and the Ministry there were substituted references to this section and a new town commission.
(7)Without prejudice to[F1 Article 6(2)(b) and (c) and (3) of the Land Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 1982], in assessing compensation payable in respect of the compulsory acquisition of any land under this section, no account shall be taken of any increase or diminution in the value of the land that is attributable to the existence of the new town.