Council obtaining compulsory purchase order in respect of applicant’s premises – Secretary of State confirming order – Applicant challenging order – Whether intended purpose of acquisition was a planning purpose – Town and Country Planning Act 1990 section 226(1)(b) – Application dismissed
The local authority, Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council sought a compulsory purchase order over the applicant’s house, which was in a poor condition. Following a public inquiry into objections to the order, the Secretary of State confirmed the order. The applicant challenged the order, contending that the power given to the local authority under section 226(1)(b) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to acquire compulsorily any land in their area, applied only in the case of the “proper planning of an area”, not “proper use”, the latter being the function of section 215 of the Act.
Held: The application was dismissed.
It was clear that the inspector and the Secretary of State considered that the intended purpose of the acquisition, namely to arrest the neglect and lack of maintenance leading to continuing decay and real harm to the character and appearance of the neighbourhood, contrary to public interest, was a “planning purpose”. That was a matter for their planning judgment, in which they made no error of law. There was nothing in the 1990 Act that indicated that the intended purpose was not capable of being a planning purpose in the present case.
Arthur James (instructed by Christopher Wright) appeared for the applicant; Nathalie Lieven (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) appeared for the respondent.
Sarah Addenbrooke, barrister