Greater London Authority Act 1999

163 Restrictions on disposal of land. E+W+S

(1) Neither Transport for London nor the Authority shall by virtue of any provision of this Act—

(a) dispose of the freehold interest in any land which is or has been operational land, or

(b) grant a leasehold interest in such land for a term of more than fifty years,

without the consent of the [F1 appropriate person].

(2) Where an estate or interest in, or right over, any land which is or has been operational land is vested in a company which is a subsidiary of Transport for London, Transport for London shall not, without the consent of the [F2 appropriate person], enter into any transaction or series of transactions the result of which would be that the company would cease to be a subsidiary of Transport for London.

(3) Consent is not required under this section by reason of any land having been operational land if a period of at least five years has elapsed since the land was last operational land.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (3) above by substituting a different period for that for the time being there specified.

[F3 (4A) Transport for London must consult Network Rail Limited, or a subsidiary of Network Rail Limited nominated by Network Rail Limited, before seeking from the appropriate person—

(a) consent under subsection (1) in relation to land used by Network Rail, or

(b) consent under subsection (2) in relation to a company in which is vested land used by Network Rail.

(4B) The Secretary of State may by regulations—

(a) amend subsection (4A) by adding or removing a person who must be consulted under that subsection;

(b) amend this section to include other requirements for Transport for London to consult before seeking a consent under this section.]

[F4 (5) Any consent—

(a) of the appropriate person under this section may be given in relation to any particular transaction or description of transactions; and

(b) of the Secretary of State under this section may be given subject to conditions.]

[F5 (6) Any consent under this section must be given in writing.]

(7) Any question whether land is operational land within the meaning of this section shall be determined by the [F6 appropriate person].

(8) In this section—

• [F7 “appropriate person” means—

  (a)

  in relation to consent under subsection (1)—

  (i)

  the Mayor of London, in a case where the consent relates to land which is entirely within Greater London and is not Crown land;

  (ii)

  the Secretary of State, in case where the consent relates to any other land;

  (b)

  in relation to consent under subsection (2)—

  (i)

  the Mayor of London, in a case where all the operational land vested in the subsidiary company is entirely within Greater London and is not Crown land;

  (ii)

  the Secretary of State, in any other case;

• “Crown land” means land in which the Crown has any estate or interest, or over which the Crown has any right;

• “land used by Network Rail” means—

  (a)

  land that is used wholly or partly for the provision of network services by Network Rail; and

  (b)

  land that is used by Network Rail wholly or partly for a purpose ancillary or incidental to use of land that falls within paragraph (a);

• “Network Rail” means Network Rail Limited or any subsidiary of Network Rail Limited;

• “network services” has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Railways Act 1993 (see section 82 of that Act);]

• operational land means—

  (a)

  land which is used for the purpose of carrying on any railway or tramway undertaking of Transport for London’s or of a subsidiary of Transport for London’s; and

  (b)

  land in which an interest is held for that purpose;

  but paragraphs (a) and (b) above do not include land which, in respect of its nature and situation, is comparable rather with land in general than with land which is used, or in which interests are held, for the purpose of the carrying on of a railway or tramway undertaking;

• railway and tramway shall be construed in accordance with section 67 of the M1 Transport and Works Act 1992.

(9) For the purposes of this section, land—

(a) which has at any time been used, or

(b) in which an interest has at any time been held,

for the purpose of carrying on a railway or tramway undertaking of London Regional Transport’s, or of a subsidiary of London Regional Transport’s, shall be treated as if that undertaking had at that time been an undertaking of Transport for London’s or of a subsidiary of Transport for London’s (and any question whether the land was, or had ceased to be, operational land at any time shall be determined accordingly).

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 163(1) substituted (29.4.2026 for specified purposes, 29.6.2026 in so far as not already in force) by English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (c. 23), ss. 28(2), 108(1)(5) (with s. 102)

F2 Words in s. 163(2) substituted (29.4.2026 for specified purposes, 29.6.2026 in so far as not already in force) by English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (c. 23), ss. 28(3), 108(1)(5) (with s. 102)

F3 S. 163(4A)(4B) inserted (29.4.2026 for specified purposes, 29.6.2026 in so far as not already in force) by English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (c. 23), ss. 28(4), 108(1)(5) (with s. 102)

F4 S. 163(5) substituted (29.4.2026 for specified purposes, 29.6.2026 in so far as not already in force) by English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (c. 23), ss. 28(5), 108(1)(5) (with s. 102)

F5 S. 163(6) substituted (E.W.) (21.1.2008) by Greater London Authority Act 2007 (c. 24), ss. 17(1), 59(7) (with s. 17(2)); S.I. 2008/113, art. 2(b)

F6 Words in s. 163(7) substituted (29.4.2026 for specified purposes, 29.6.2026 in so far as not already in force) by English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (c. 23), ss. 28(6), 108(1)(5) (with s. 102)

F7 Words in s. 163(8) inserted (29.4.2026 for specified purposes, 29.6.2026 in so far as not already in force) by English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (c. 23), ss. 28(7), 108(1)(5) (with s. 102)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 163 excluded (30.4.2002) by S.I. 2002/1066, art. 41(5)

C2 S. 163 excluded (2.4.2004) by The Docklands Light Railway (Woolwich Arsenal Extension) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/757), arts. 1, 48(5)

C3 S. 163 excluded (E.W.) (25.11.2005) by The Docklands Light Railway (Capacity Enhancement) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3105), arts. 1, 46(5) (with arts. 3(5), 15(3))

C4 S. 163 excluded (15.12.2014) by The London Underground (Northern Line Extension) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/3102), arts. 1, 41(5) (with Sch. 8 para. 45)

C5 S. 163 excluded (12.1.2016) by The London Underground (Bank Station Capacity Upgrade) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/2044), arts. 1, 38(5)

C6 S. 163(1)(2) restricted (22.7.2008) by Crossrail Act 2008 (c. 18), s. 38(3)

Commencement Information

I1 S.163 wholly in force at 3.7.2000: s.163 in force at Royal Assent (11.11.1999)for certain purposes, see s.425(2); s. 163 in force (3.7.2000) in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2000/801, art. 2(2)(c), Sch. Pt. 3

Marginal Citations

M1 1992 c. 42.