Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011
2011 CHAPTER 25
Commentary on Sections
Part 7: Purchase of estates in certain land affected by planning decisions.
Section 191: Service of purchase notice
This section enables a land owner, who claims their land is left without any reasonable beneficial use by virtue of a planning decision, to issue a purchase notice to seek to have a council acquire it. A purchase notice must be served within the time and manner specified by a development order.
Section 192: Purchase notices: Crown land
This section sets out the conditions whereby a purchase notice may be served in respect of Crown land.
Section 193: Action by council following service of purchase notice
Under this section after a purchase notice is served on a council it may respond in a number of ways. A council may serve a notice that it is willing to comply with the purchase notice or it may serve a counter-notice by way of objection. A counter-notice must state the reasons why a council does not wish to comply with the purchase notice.
Section 194: Further ground of objection to purchase notice
This section allows a council to object to development of land which although incapable of beneficial development in its existing state, ought to remain undeveloped in accordance with a condition attached to a previous planning permission.
Section 195: Reference of counter-notices to Lands Tribunal
This section empowers the Lands Tribunal to decide if either the purchase notice or a council’s counter-notice should be upheld.
Section 196: Effect of valid purchase notice
This section states that when a purchase notice has been accepted, a council is deemed to have entered into a contract to purchase the land to which the notice applies. It also sets out arrangements for payment.
Section 197: Special provision as to compensation under this Part
Under this section if compensation is payable in respect of expenditure incurred in carrying out any work on land under section 26 of the 1965 Act, then, if a purchase notice is served on that land, the compensation payable in respect of the acquisition of that estate in pursuance of the purchase notice shall be reduced to an appropriate value.
