黑洞社区

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has warned the government against bringing in a 鈥榞eneral direction鈥� to remove 鈥榟ope value鈥� from compensation for compulsorily purchased homes.

The HBF, in its response to a government consultation paper on reforming compulsory purchase orders (CPO), said the move, which is being considered by the government, could lead to less land being brought forward for development. 

The government is proposing to extend the circumstances in which public bodies acquiring land through a CPO do not have to pay 鈥榟ope value鈥� 鈥揳n uplift based on estimates of what the land could be worth if developed on in the future 鈥� if the development is in the public interest.

However in addition to directions for specific schemes on a case-by-case basis, ministers are also 鈥渃onsidering whether a general power could be introduced鈥� to enable the secretary of state to remove hope value for a whole category of sites where its in the public interest.

It suggests these categories could include brownfield land in built-up areas with no planning permission and land allocated for residential development in an adopted plan which has not come forward for development.

The HBF, in its response said the aim of deploying compulsory purchase 鈥渕ore readily to speed up site delivery鈥� is 鈥渧ery likely to have the opposite effect鈥�.

It said: 鈥淓ven with the streamlining to the process that is proposed, compulsory purchase can take longer to execute than it can take a local authority to prepare a local plan. The time and cost and risk involved in deploying compulsory purchase more readily, as imagined by proponents of the case to remove hope value from compulsory purchase negotiations, relative to the extent that hope value plays in the delaying of sites coming forward, is in no way commensurate.鈥�

HBF said that it will have to continue to defend its membership from two 鈥榤yths鈥�, that its members hoard land and that abolishing hope value will speed up site delivery.

鈥淭he lesson of history is that no landowner will enter into a commercial agreement with a promotion partner if, having secured a local plan allocation, there is any possibility that the land can be compulsorily purchased at a price below its market value鈥�, its submission said.

鈥淔undamentally, there is a genuine risk that if the proposals are pursued compulsory purchase becomes more contentious not less, and that at the same time less land comes forward for development not more鈥� it added.

HBF however said that streamlining the compulsory purchase process where it is deployed as a 鈥渢ool of last resort鈥� is laudable.

The Labour government is also proposing to allow CPOs to be made on behalf of town and community councils by local authorities to remove hope value where they schemes are facilitating affordable or social housing.

It said: 鈥淗BF could support this proposition in the very narrow circumstances whereby land cannot be acquired in any other way but would respectfully suggest that the widespread adoption of such a provision would depend on an increase in the skills and resources available to the agencies involved鈥�