The issues in Joshua v London Borough of Southwark [2014] UKUT 0511 (LC); [2014] PLSCS 348 were restricted to the ascertainment of the open market value of the claimant’s leasehold flat, and the amount of the claimant’s pre-reference costs. (The claimant had served a blight notice under section 150 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (“the Act”) on the acquiring authority following a resolution by it to make the CPOs necessary to enable the whole of the estate of which it formed part to be redeveloped.) Nevertheless, the reference provides a reminder of how the blight notice procedure works.
In general terms, the purpose of a blight notice is to compel an acquiring authority to purchase land in advance of its compulsory purchase needs in order to mitigate hardship. A government white paper published in 1972 stated as follows: “When public development is mooted, property falls in value or even becomes unsaleable if it is known, or believed, that it will be acquired in the future.” The blight notice procedure has been described as a form of inverse compulsory purchase.
Where a person owns a “qualifying interest” – as defined in section 149 of the Act – in “blighted land” ie land falling within any paragraph of schedule 13 to the Act, he may, subject to satisfying certain conditions, serve a blight notice on the acquiring authority. (The relevant paragraph of schedule 13 in Joshua was [23]. Stated briefly, this covers land in respect of which a CPO is in force and the acquiring authority has power to serve, but has not served, notice to treat.) The vital condition is that owner must have made reasonable endeavours to sell his interest, and because of the blight he has been unable to except at a substantially lower price.
The acquiring authority is entitled, within two months of service of a blight notice on it, to serve a counter-notice specifying one or more statutory grounds on which it objects. (These include, for instance, that the claimant did not own a “qualifying interest” at the date of service of the blight notice and that he has not made reasonable endeavours to sell his interest.)
If it does not serve a counter-notice in time, the blight notice takes effect and the acquiring authority is deemed to have served a notice to treat to acquire the owner’s interest. If it does serve a counter-notice in time, the owner has two months in which to refer the counter-notice to the Tribunals Service. If he fails to do so, the counter-notice is treated as effective, and the blight notice imposes no obligation on the acquiring authority.
Compensation for the acquisition is assessed under the provisions generally applicable where land is acquired compulsorily.
John Martin is a planning law consultant
