Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1963

Part I

Period during which Part I shall have effect

1

Tribunal for assessing compensation in respect of land compulsorily acquired

2

• (1) Where by or under any statute (whether passed before or after the passing of this Act) land is authorised to be acquired compulsorily, any question of disputed compensation and, where any part of the land to be acquired is subject to a lease which comprises land not acquired, any question as to the apportionment of the rent payable under the lease, shall be referred to the arbitration of such one of a panel of official arbiters appointed under this section as may be selected in accordance with rules made by the Reference Committee under this section and shall be determined by such arbiter in accordance with the following provisions of this Act.

• (2) Such number of persons, being persons with special knowledge in the valuation of land, as may be appointed by the Reference Committee shall form a panel of persons to act as official arbiters for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

• (3) A person appointed to be a member of the panel of official arbiters shall hold office for such term certain as may be determined by the Treasury before his appointment.

• (4) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament to official arbiters such salaries or remuneration as the Treasury may determine.

• (5) The Reference Committee shall consist of the Lord President of the Court of Session, the Lord Justice Clerk and the Chairman of the Scottish Committee of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Procedure on references under s. 2

3

• (1) The following provisions shall have effect with respect to any proceedings on a question referred to the official arbiter under section 2 of this Act.

• (2) The official arbiter shall sit in public.

• (3) Not more than one expert witness on either side shall be heard unless the official arbiter otherwise directs; except that, where the claim includes a claim for compensation in respect of minerals, or disturbance of business, as well as in respect of land, one additional expert witness on either side on the value of the minerals or, as the case may be, on the damage suffered by reason of the disturbance may be allowed.

• (4) The official arbiter shall be entitled to enter on and inspect any land which is the subject of proceedings before him.

• (5) An official arbiter shall be entitled to be furnished with such returns and assessments as he may require.

• (6) The official arbiter shall, on the application of either party, specify the amount awarded in respect of any particular matter the subject of the award.

• (7) The fees to be charged in respect of proceedings before official arbiters shall be such as the Treasury may prescribe.

• (8) Subject as aforesaid, the Reference Committee may make rules regulating the procedure before official arbiters.

• (9) The decision of an official arbiter upon any question of fact shall be final and binding on the parties and the persons claiming under them respectively, but the official arbiter may, and shall, if the Court of Session so directs, state at any stage of the proceedings, in the form of a special case for the opinion of the said Court, any question of law arising in the course of the proceedings, and may state his award as to the whole or part thereof in the form of a special case for the opinion of the said Court.

Consolidation of proceedings on claims in respect of several interests in the same land

4

Where notices to treat have been served for the acquisition of the several interests in any land then, if the acquiring authority so desire, the disputed claims of the persons entitled to those interests shall, so far as practicable, be heard and determined by the same official arbiter, and the Reference Committee may make rules providing that such claims shall be heard together; but the value of the several interests shall be separately assessed.

Expenses

5

• (1) Where either—

• (a) the acquiring authority have made an unconditional offer in writing of any sum as compensation to any claimant and the sum awarded by the official arbiter to that claimant does not exceed the sum offered; or

• (b) the official arbiter is satisfied that a claimant has failed to deliver to the acquiring authority, in time to enable them to make a proper offer, a notice in writing of the amount claimed by him, containing the particulars mentioned in subsection (2) of this section;

the official arbiter shall, unless for special reasons he thinks proper not to do so, order the claimant to bear his own expenses and to pay the expenses of the acquiring authority so far as they were incurred after the offer was made or, as the case may be, after the time when in the opinion of the. official arbiter the notice should have been delivered.

• (2) The notice mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of this section must state the exact nature of the interest in respect of which compensation is claimed and give details of the compensation claimed, distinguishing the amounts under separate heads and showing how the amount claimed under each head is calculated.

• (3) Where a claimant has delivered such a notice as is mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of this section and has made an unconditional offer in writing to accept any sum as compensation, then, if the sum awarded to him by the official arbiter is equal to or exceeds that sum, the official arbiter shall, unless for special reasons he thinks proper not to do so, order the acquiring authority to bear their own expenses and pay the expenses of the claimant so far as they were incurred after his offer was made.

• (4) Subject as aforesaid, the expenses of an arbitration under this Part of this Act shall be in the discretion of the official arbiter who may direct to and by whom, and in what manner, those expenses or any part thereof shall be paid, and the official arbiter may, in any case, disallow the cost of counsel.

• (5) An official arbiter may himself tax the amount of expenses ordered to be paid or may direct in what manner they are to be taxed.

• (6) Where the official arbiter orders the claimant to pay the expenses, or any part of the expenses, of the acquiring authority, the acquiring authority may deduct the amount so payable by the claimant from the amount of the compensation, if any, payable to him.

• (7) For the purposes of this section, expenses include any fees, charges and expenses of the arbitration or award.

Power to refer to Commissioners of Inland Revenue or to agreed arbiter

6

• (1) Nothing in this Part of this Act shall prevent, if the parties so agree, the reference of any question as to disputed compensation or apportionment of rent to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or to an arbiter agreed on between the parties.

• (2) Where a question is so referred to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, the Commissioners shall not proceed by arbitration, but shall cause an assessment to be made in accordance with the rules for the assessment of compensation under this Act, and the following provisions shall have effect:—

• (a) The parties shall comply with any direction or requirements as to the furnishing of information (whether orally or in writing) and the production of documents and otherwise;

• (b) Any officer of the Commissioners appointed for the purpose shall be entitled to enter on and inspect any land which is subject to the reference to them;

• (c) The Commissioners, if either party so desires within such time as the Commissioners may allow, shall give the parties an opportunity of being heard before such officer of the valuation office of the Commissioners as the Commissioners may appoint for the purpose;

• (d) The assessment when made shall be published to the parties and take effect as if it were an award of an official arbiter under this Part of this Act;

• (e) If either party refuses or neglects to comply with any direction or requirement of the Commissioners, the Commissioners may decline to proceed with the matter, and in that case the question shall be referred to an official arbiter as if there had been no reference to the Commissioners, and the official arbiter when awarding expenses shall take into consideration any report of the Commissioners as to the refusal or neglect which rendered such a reference to him necessary.

• (3) Where a question is referred to an arbiter under subsection (1) of this section, the provisions of this Part of this Act, except sections 2 and 4 and so much of section 3 as requires proceedings to be in public and as provides for the fixing of fees, shall apply as if the arbiter was an official arbiter.

• (4) Either party to a claim for compensation may require the Commissioners of Inland Revenue to assess the value of the land in respect of which the claim arises, and a copy of any such assessment shall be sent forthwith by the Commissioners to the other party, and a certified copy of such assessment shall be admissible in evidence of that value in proceedings before the official arbiter, and the officer who made the assessment shall attend, if the official arbiter so require, to answer such questions as the official arbiter may think fit to put to him thereon.

Rules and fees

7

• (1) Any power to make rules conferred by this Part of this Act on the Reference Committee and the power to prescribe fees conferred by this Part of this Act on the Treasury shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

• (2) The Statutory Instruments Act 1946 shall apply to a statutory instrument containing rules made for the purposes of this Part of this Act as if the rules had been made by a Minister of the Crown.

Part II — Determination of Questions of Disputed Compensation by Lands Tribunal

Tribunal for assessing compensation in respect of land compulsorily acquired

8

As from the coming into operation of this Part of this Act, where by or under any statute (whether passed before or after the passing of this Act) land is authorised to be acquired compulsorily, any question of disputed compensation and, where any part of the land to be acquired is subject to a lease which comprises land not acquired, any question as to the apportionment of the rent payable under the lease, shall be referred to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland (hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as “the Lands Tribunal”) and shall be determined by the Lands Tribunal in accordance with the following provisions of this Act.

Procedure on references under s. 8

9

• (1) The following provisions shall have effect with respect to any proceedings on a question referred to the Lands Tribunal under section 8 of this Act.

• (2) The Lands Tribunal shall sit in public.

• (3) Not more than one expert witness on either side shall be heard unless the Lands Tribunal otherwise directs; except that, where the claim includes a claim for compensation in respect of minerals, or disturbance of business, as well as in respect of land, one additional expert witness on either side on the value of the minerals or, as the case may be, on the damage suffered by reason of the disturbance may be allowed.

• (4) A member of the Lands Tribunal dealing with the proceedings shall be entitled to enter on and inspect any land which is the subject of the proceedings.

• (5) The Lands Tribunal shall, on the application of either party, specify the amount awarded in respect of any particular matter the subject of the award.

Consolidation of proceedings on claims in respect of several interests in the same land

10

Where notices to treat have been served for the acquisition of several interests in any land then, if the acquiring authority so desire, the disputed claims of the persons entitled to those interests shall, so far as practicable, be heard and determined by the same member or members of the Lands Tribunal, and the Secretary of State may make rules under the Lands Tribunal Act 1949 providing that such claims shall be heard together; but the value of the several interests shall be separately assessed.

Expenses

11

• (1) Where either—

• (a) the acquiring authority have made an unconditional offer in writing of any sum as compensation to any claimant and the sum awarded by the Lands Tribunal to that claimant does not exceed the sum offered; or

• (b) the Lands Tribunal is satisfied that a claimant has failed to deliver to the acquiring authority, in time to enable them to make a proper offer, a notice in writing of the amount claimed by him, containing the particulars mentioned in subsection (2) of this section;

the Lands Tribunal shall, unless for special reasons it thinks proper not to do so, order the claimant to bear his own expenses and to pay the expenses of the acquiring authority so far as they were incurred after the offer was made or, as the case may be, after the time when in the opinion of the Lands Tribunal the notice should have been delivered.

• (2) The notice mentioned in subsection (1) (b) of this section must state the exact nature of the interest in respect of which compensation is claimed, and give details of the compensation claimed, distinguishing the amounts under separate heads and showing how the amount claimed under each head is calculated.

• (3) Where a claimant has delivered such a notice as is mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of this section and has made an unconditional offer in writing to accept any sum as compensation, then, if the sum awarded to him by the Lands Tribunal is equal to or exceeds that sum, the Lands Tribunal shall, unless for special reasons it thinks proper not to do so, order the acquiring authority to bear their own expenses and pay the expenses of the claimant so far as they were incurred after his offer was made.

• (4) The Lands Tribunal may in any case disallow the cost of counsel.

• (5) Where the Lands Tribunal orders the claimant to pay the expenses, or any part of the expenses, of the acquiring authority, the acquiring authority may deduct the amount so payable by the claimant from the amount of the compensation, if any, payable to him.

Part III — Provisions determining amount of compensation

General provisions

Rules for assessing compensation

12

Compensation in respect of any compulsory acquisition shall be assessed in accordance with the following rules:—

• (1) No allowance shall be made on account of the acquisition being compulsory:

• (2) The value of land shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be taken to be the amount which the land if sold in the open market by a willing seller might be expected to realise:

• (3) The special suitability or adaptability of the land for any purpose shall not be taken into account if that purpose is a purpose to which it could be applied only in pursuance of statutory powers, or for which there is no market apart from . . .the special needs of a particular purchaser or the requirements of any authority possessing compulsory purchase powers:

• (4) Where the value of the land is increased by reason of the use thereof or of any premises thereon in a manner which could be restrained by any court, or is contrary to law, or is detrimental to the health of the occupants of the premises or to the public health, the amount of that increase shall not be taken into account:

• (5) Where land is, and but for the compulsory acquisition would continue to be, devoted to a purpose of such a nature that there is no general demand or market for land for that purpose, the compensation may, if the official arbiter is satisfied that reinstatement in some other place is bona fide intended, be assessed on the basis of the reasonable cost of equivalent reinstatement:

• (6) The provisions of rule (2) shall not affect the assessment of compensation for disturbance or any other matter not directly based on the value of land:

and the following provisions of this Part of this Act shall have effect with respect to the assessment.

Disregard of actual or prospective development in certain cases

13

• (1) Subject to section 15 of this Act, no account shall be taken of any increase or diminution in the value of the relevant interest which, in the circumstances described in any of the paragraphs in the first column of Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, is attributable to the carrying out, or the prospect, of so much of the development mentioned in relation thereto in the second column of Part I of that Schedule as would not have been likely to be carried out if—

• (a) (where the acquisition is for purposes involving development of any of the land authorised to be acquired) the acquiring authority had not acquired and did not propose to acquire any of that land; and

• (b) (where the circumstances are those described in one or more of paragraphs 2 to 4A in the said first column of Part I) the area or areas referred to in that paragraph or those paragraphs had not been defined or designated as therein mentioned or (in a case falling within paragraph 4) if the scheme therein mentioned had not come into operation.

• (2) In determining whether the relevant land forms part of such an area as is mentioned in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1,—

• (a) in the case of an area designated as the site of a new town by an order which became operative on or before 29th October, 1958, regard shall be had to that order in the form in which, whether as originally made or as subsequently varied, it was in force on that day, and any variation becoming operative after that day shall be disregarded;

• (b) in the case of an area designated as the site of a new town by an order which became operative after the said 29th October, whether before or after the passing of this Act, regard shall be had to the order in its original form, and any variation of the order shall be disregarded.

• (2A) The provisions of Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with regard to paragraphs 3 and 3A of Part I of that Scheduleand the provisions of Part III of that Schedule shall have effect with regard to paragraph 4A.

• (3) In this section and in Schedule 1 to this Act—

• “the land authorised to be acquired”—

• (a) in relation to a compulsory acquisition authorised by a compulsory purchase order or a special enactment, means the aggregate of the land comprised in that authorisation, and