Land Acquisition and Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 1973

Vesting order in respect of part of agricultural land N.I.

50.—(1) Where a vesting order becomes operative in respect of any agricultural land and any person (whether in occupation or not) having a greater interest in the land than as tenant for a year or from year to year has such an interest in other agricultural land comprised in the same agricultural unit as that to which the vesting order relates, that person (in this Part referred to as “the claimant”) may, within the period of two months beginning with the date on which the vesting order becomes operative, serve on the acquiring authority a notice—

(a) claiming that the other land is not reasonably capable of being farmed either by itself or in conjunction with other relevant land, as a separate agricultural unit; and

(b) requiring the acquiring authority to purchase his interest in the whole of the other land.

(2) Where a notice is served under paragraph (1) the claimant shall also, within the period mentioned in that paragraph, serve a copy thereof on any other person who has an interest in the land to which the requirement in the notice relates, but failure to comply with this paragraph shall not invalidate the notice.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), “other relevant land” in paragraph (1) means—

(a) land comprised in the same agricultural unit as the land to which the vesting order relates, being land in which the claimant does not have such an interest as is mentioned in that paragraph; and

(b) land comprised in any other agricultural unit occupied by him on the date of operation of the vesting order, being land in respect of which he is then entitled to a greater interest than as tenant for a year or from year to year.

(4) Where the notice of application for, or the notice of intention to make, a vesting order in respect of any of the other agricultural land mentioned in paragraph (1) or in respect of other relevant land as defined in paragraph (3) is first published, then, unless and until the application is withdrawn or refused or, as the case may be, the intention to make the vesting order is abandoned, this Article and Article 51 shall have effect as if that land did not form part of that other agricultural land or did not constitute other relevant land, as the case may be.

(5) This Article is without prejudice to the rights conferred by sections 93 and 94 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 [1845 c.18] (provisions as to divided land).