Compulsory acquisition of land for regeneration or relocation

Part of High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:00 pm on 3 March 2016.

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Photo of Robert Goodwill Robert Goodwill Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport) 2:00, 3 March 2016

The hon. Gentleman is right. The owners of land close to HS2 stations or areas where HS2 will have an economic benefit will be grasping such opportunities with both hands. The land will have achieved an uplift in value and the opportunities will be fantastic. Problems might include a particular landowner not wanting to co-operate or another acquisition problem. This is not just about land development, but about the relocation of businesses, and I can think of one or two such examples. We need to be sure that we can bring forward viable opportunities for businesses to be relocated, which will protect those particular jobs.

To promote a compulsory purchase order successfully, the Secretary of State would need to demonstrate three things. First, that a private purchase is not possible, so the land should be taken compulsorily. Secondly, that there is a reasonable prospect of the proposed development coming forward—in other words, that there is no obvious reason why planning permission would not be granted if has not been already. Thirdly, that there is a compelling public-interest need for the land. Taking an individual’s land interferes with their fundamental human rights, so it is only right that significant protections should be in place. The power does not change those protections at all. Although it extends beyond the construction period into operation, checks and balances will continue to be in place.

Although local authorities already have the power to make compulsory purchase orders, it does not always happen. The power is there to ensure that development does happen, and we would expect local authorities to take the opportunity to lead development in their areas. However, in certain circumstances local authorities might be unable to do so, either because regeneration opportunities straddle local authority boundaries or because a local authority does not have the specialist resource to undertake the compulsory purchase order process. In such circumstances, if development is not coming forward in a timeframe that maximises the opportunity, the Government will be able to use this power to accelerate the process, following consultation with the relevant local authority.

Of course, there are safeguards to protect landowners. Planning permission for any developments would need to be obtained in the usual way, and the compulsory purchase order would be made only if there was a reasonable prospect of obtaining planning permission and the compulsory acquisition could be justified as being in the public interest.

I turn to the amendments. The purpose of clause 48(1) is to ensure that the development and regeneration opportunities that HS2 presents are maximised in a timely manner. However, it is a backstop power. We expect local authorities or landowners to be able to capitalise on any opportunities. Indeed, that is already happening. For example, Birmingham City Council has already published its plans for the development of the Curzon Street area, and we support it on that. However, in the event that there are issues that impede development, such as effective land packaging, regeneration areas straddling different local authority boundaries and so on, we will have the ability to step in and to help the development progress. Any such developments that require land outside the Bill limits would require the promotion of a compulsory purchase order and, as I have explained, the rules are tightly drawn and must be adhered to.

Amendment 22 is unnecessary. The Secretary of State will always behave reasonably. As I said earlier, we have sought not to legislate unless necessary. Amendment 23 would also represent an unnecessary complication and restriction. We all want to see the benefits that the HS2 line will bring in regeneration opportunities, but a definition would add no help.

Amendments 24 and 25 were also proposed by the London Borough of Camden during the HS2 Select Committee process. The Select Committee considered the changes and declined to accept them. Instead, the Committee accepted amendments proposed by the promoter requiring the Secretary of State to consult local authorities before exercising any compulsory purchase of land under clause 48(1) of the Bill. The cross-party Select Committee agreed that course of action.

I hope that, having heard the points I have made, the hon. Member for Middlesbrough will withdraw his amendment and not press the others to a Division. What the Government are proposing is reasonable to all, whether they are on a Boris Routemaster or even an Enviro400 produced by those wonderful people, Alexander Dennis, in my constituency.