267Disposal of land held for planning purposes(1)

A local authority may dispose of land to which this section applies to any person, in any way and subject to any conditions that it considers appropriate in order to secure—

(a)

the best use of that or any other land, and of—

(i)

any buildings that have been, or are to be, erected, or

(ii)

any works that have been, or are to be, constructed or carried out,

on that land or any other land (whether by the authority or by any other person), or

(b)

the erection of any buildings, or the construction or carrying out of any works, whether on that land or any other land, that the authority considers are needed for the proper planning of its area.

(2)

But if the first or second condition is met, a local authority may not dispose of land under this section without the consent of the Welsh Ministers.

(3)

The first condition is that—

(a)

the land is or forms part of a common, or previously was or formed part of a common, and

(b)

the authority holds or manages the land in accordance with a local Act.

(4)

The second condition is that—

(a)

the disposal is to be for less than the best consideration that can reasonably be obtained, and

(b)

the disposal is not—

(i)

the grant of a lease for a term of 7 years or less, or

(ii)

the assignment of a lease granted for a term that has 7 years or less left to run at the date of the assignment.

(5)

Before disposing of land that is or forms part of an open space under this section, a local authority must—

(a)

publish a notice of its intention to do so for at least 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper circulating in its area, and

(b)

consider any objections to the proposed disposal that are made to it.

(6)

Where land has been acquired or appropriated by a local authority for a purpose mentioned in section 262(2) or (4), the authority and the Welsh Ministers (in relation to the giving of consent) must, so far as practicable, exercise their functions under this section so as to secure an opportunity for relevant occupiers of the land to obtain suitable accommodation on it.

(7)

In subsection (6)—

(a)

“relevant occupier” means a person who—

(i)

was living or carrying on business or other activities on the land,

(ii)

wishes to obtain accommodation on the land, and

(iii)

is willing to comply with any requirements of the authority relating to the development and use of the land;

(b)

“suitable accommodation”, in relation to a person who is a relevant occupier, means accommodation that—

(i)

is suitable to the person’s reasonable requirements, and

(ii)

is provided on terms settled having regard to the price at which any of the land was acquired from the person.