New Towns (Scotland) Act 1968

New towns and their development corporations

Designation of site of new town

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• (1) If the Secretary of State is satisfied, after consultation with any local authorities who appear to him to be concerned, that it is expedient in the national interest that any area of land should be developed as a new town by a corporation established under this Act, he may make an order designating that area as the site of the proposed new town.

• (2) An order under this section may include in the area designated as the site of the proposed new town any existing town or other centre of population; and references in this Act to a new town or proposed new town shall be construed accordingly.

• (3) The provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the procedure to be followed in connection with the making of orders under this section and with respect to the validity and date of operation of such orders.

• (4) As soon as may be after an order under this section becomes operative, the Secretary of State shall record it in the Register of Sasines.

• (5) Section 10(4) of this Act applies where it is proposed to make an order under this section.

• (6) Section 46(5) of this Act applies to any order under this section which designates an area as the site of a proposed new town, and to certain orders for extending the area of a new town.

Establishment of development corporation for new town

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• (1) For the purposes of the development of each new town the site of which is designated under section 1 of this Act, the Secretary of State shall by order establish a corporation (in this Act called a development corporation) consisting of a chairman, a deputy chairman and such number of other members, not exceeding seven, as may be prescribed by the order; and every such corporation shall be a body corporate by such name as may be prescribed by the order, with perpetual succession and a common seal.

• (2) The provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution and proceedings of any development corporation established under this Act.

• (3) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as exempting a development corporation from liability for any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local.

Objects and general powers of development corporation

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• (1) The objects of a development corporation established for the purposes of a new town shall be to secure the laying out and development of the new town in accordance with proposals approved in that behalf under the following provisions of this Act.

• (2) Subject to section 4 of this Act, every such corporation shall, for the purpose of securing the laying out and development of the new town as aforesaid, have power—

• (a) to acquire, hold, manage and dispose of land and other property;

• (b) to carry out building and other operations;

• (c) to provide water, electricity, gas, sewerage and other services;

• (d) to carry on any business or undertaking in or for the purposes of the new town,

and generally to do anything necessary or expedient for the purposes of the new town or for purposes incidental thereto.

• (3) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred on development corporations by this Act, a development corporation—

• (a) may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, contribute such sums as the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Treasury, may determine towards expenditure incurred or to be incurred by any local authority or statutory undertakers in the performance, in relation to the new town, of any of their statutory functions, including expenditure so incurred in the acquisition of land; and

• (b) may, with the like consent, contribute such sums as the Secretary of State, with the like concurrence, may determine by way of assistance towards the provision of amenities for the new town.

• (4) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that subsection (2) above relates only to the capacity of a development corporation as a statutory corporation; and nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising the disregard by a development corporation of any enactment or rule of law.

• (5) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby also declared—

• (a) that the power of acquiring land conferred by subsection (2) above on a development corporation established for the purposes of a new town includes power to acquire any land within the area of the new town, whether or not it is proposed to develop that particular land; and

• (b) that the power of disposing of land conferred by that subsection on such a development corporation includes, in relation to any land within the area of the new town, power to dispose of that land whether or not the development of that particular land has been proposed or approved under section 6(1) of this Act.

Restrictions on powers of development corporation

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• (1) A development corporation shall not have power to borrow money except in accordance with sections 37 and 37A of this Act.

• (2) Without prejudice to any provision of this Act requiring the consent of the Secretary of State to be obtained for anything to be done by a development corporation, the Secretary of State may give directions to any such corporation for restricting the exercise by them of any of their powers under this Act or for requiring them to exercise those powers in any manner specified in the directions.

• (3) Before giving any directions to a development corporation under subsection (2) above the Secretary of State shall consult with the chairman of the corporation, or, if the chairman is not available, with the deputy chairman, unless he is satisfied that , on account of urgency, such consultation is impracticable.

• (4) A transaction between a person and a development corporation acting in purported exercise of their powers under this Act shall not be void by reason only that it was carried out in contravention of a direction given by the Secretary of State under subsection (2) above unless that person had actual notice of that direction.

• (5) Without prejudice to section 3(4) of this Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorising a development corporation to carry on any undertaking for the supply of water, electricity or gas, or any railway, light railway, tramway or trolley vehicle undertaking except under the authority of an enactment not contained in this Act specifically authorising them to do so or, in the case of a trolley vehicle undertaking, under the authority of such an enactment or of an order under section 32 of this Act.

Allocation or transfer of new town functions to existing or new development corporation

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• (1) If it appears to the Secretary of State, in the case of the area of any new town, that there are exceptional circumstances which render it expedient that the functions of a development corporation under this Act should be performed by the development corporation established for the purposes of any other new town instead of by a separate corporation established for the purpose, he may instead of establishing such a separate corporation, by order direct that the said functions shall be performed by the development corporation established for the said other new town.

• (2) If it appears to the Secretary of State that there are exceptional circumstances which render it expedient that the functions of a development corporation established for the purposes of a new town should be transferred to the development corporation established for the purposes of any other new town, or to a new development corporation to be established for the purposes of the first-mentioned new town, he may by order provide for the dissolution of the first-mentioned corporation and for the transfer of its functions, property, rights and liabilities to the development corporation established for the purposes of the said other new town, or, as the case may be, to a new corporation established for the purposes of the first-mentioned new town by the order.

• (3) Without prejudice to the provisions of this Act with respect to the variation of orders made thereunder, an order under this section providing for the exercise of functions in relation to a new town by the development corporation established for the purposes of another new town, or for the transfer of such functions to such a corporation, may modify the name and constitution of that corporation in such manner as appears to the Secretary of State to be expedient, and for the purposes of this Act that corporation shall be treated as having been established for the purposes of each of those new towns.

• (4) Before making an order under this section providing for the transfer of functions from or to a development corporation or for the exercise of any functions by such a corporation, the Secretary of State shall consult with that corporation.

Planning control in new towns

Planning control in new town

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• (1) The development corporation established for the purposes of a new town shall from time to time submit to the Secretary of State, in accordance with any directions given by him in that behalf, their proposals for the development of land within the area of the new town, and the Secretary of State, after consultation with the . . . district planning authority within whose district the land is situated, and with any other local authority who appear to him to be concerned, may approve any such proposals either with or without modification.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by section 11 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947, a special development order made by the Secretary of State under that section with respect to the area of a new town may grant permission for any development of land in accordance with proposals approved under subsection (1) above, subject to such conditions, if any (including conditions requiring details of any proposed development to be submitted to the local planning authority), as may be specified in the order.

• (3) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to give to a development corporation established under this Act such directions with respect to the disposal of land acquired by them thereunder and with respect to the development by them of such land, as appear to him to be necessary or expedient for securing, so far as practicable, the preservation of any features of special architectural or historic interest, and in particular of buildings included in any list compiled or approved under section 28 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947 (which relates to the compilation or approval by the Secretary of State of lists of buildings of special architectural or historical interest).

• (4) In the case of land which forms a frontage to a road, or abuts on or is adjacent to a road, a roads authority may enter into an agreement with any owner of the land imposing on the land, so far as that owner’s interest in the land enables him to bind it, restrictions for controlling the development of the land.

• (5) Any agreement under subsection (4) above may, within three months after the date on which it was entered into be registered in the Land Register of Scotland or, as the case may, be recorded in the Register of Sasines, and on being so registered or recorded shall be enforceable by the roads authority against the said owner and against any person deriving title from him.

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acquisition of land by development corporations and highway authorities

Acquisition of land by development corporation

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• (1) The development corporation established for the purposes of a new town may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, acquire by agreement, or may, by means of an order made by the corporation and submitted to and confirmed by the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of Part I of Schedule 3 to this Act, be authorised to acquire compulsorily—

• (a) any land within the area of the new town, whether or not it is proposed to develop that particular land;

• (b) any land adjacent to that area which they require for purposes connected with the development of the new town;

• (c) any land, whether adjacent to that area or not, which they require for the provision of services for the purposes of the new town.

• (2) A compulsory purchase order under this section shall, in so far as it relates to land—

• (a) which is the property of a local authority, or which is held inalienably by the National Trust, or

• (b) which forms part of a common or open space,

be subject to the special provisions of Part IV of the said Schedule 3.

• (3) Where a development corporation have been authorised under subsection (1) above to acquire compulsorily land forming part of a common or open space, they may be authorised under that subsection to acquire compulsorily, or may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, acquire by agreement, land for giving in exchange for the land acquired.

• (4) The provisions of Part V of the said Schedule 3 shall have effect with respect to the validity and date of operation of compulsory purchase orders under this section.

• (5) In relation to operational land of statutory undertakers the foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect subject to section 10 of this Act.

Acquisition of land for highways in connection with new towns

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• (1) Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the construction or improvement of a road is needed—

• (a) outside the area of a new town, for the purpose of securing the development of land in that area in accordance with proposals approved by the Secretary of State under section 6 of this Act, or

• (b) for the purpose of providing proper means of access to such an area,

a local roads authority may be authorised, by means of an order made by the authority and submitted to and confirmed by the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of Parts I and II of Schedule 3 to this Act, to acquire compulsorily any land as to which the Secretary of State is satisfied that its acquisition by the authority is requisite—

• (i) for the construction or improvement of the road, or

• (ii) for carrying out the improvement, or controlling the development, of frontages to the road or of lands abutting on or adjacent to the road.

• (2) Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the construction or improvement of a road is needed to supersede a part of a a road for which he is the roads authoritywhose supersession appears to him to be expedient for any such purpose as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or (b) above, he may be authorised, by means of an order made by him in accordance with the provisions of Part III of Schedule 3 to this Act, to acquire compulsorily any land as to which he is satisfied that its acquisition by him is requisite—

• (a) for the construction or improvement of the road, or

• (b) for carrying out the improvement, or controlling the development, of frontages to the road or of lands abutting on or adjacent to the road.

• (3) A compulsory purchase order under this section shall, in so far as it relates to land—

• (a) which is the property of a local authority or which is held inalienably by the National Trust, or

• (b) which forms part of a common or open space,

be subject to the special provisions of Part IV of the said Schedule 3.

• (4) Where an acquiring authority have been authorised under subsection (1) or subsection (2) above to acquire compulsorily land forming part of a common or open space, that authority may be authorised under the same subsection to acquire compulsorily land for giving in exchange for the land acquired.

• (5) The provisions of Part V of Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the validity and date of operation of compulsory purchase orders under this section.

• (6) A local roads authority may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, acquire by agreement any land which they could be authorised under subsection (1) above to acquire compulsorily.

• (7) In relation to operational land of statutory undertakers the foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect subject to section 10 of this Act.

Recording of compulsory purchase orders

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As soon as may be after a compulsory purchase order under section 7 or 8 of this Act becomes operative, the acquiring authority shall register it in the Land Register of Scotland or as the case may be record it in the Register of Sasines.

Special procedure for acquisition of statutory undertakers' operational land

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• (1) In the case of operational land of statutory undertakers—

• (a) an order under section 7(1) of this Act authorising the compulsory acquisition of that land by a development corporation, or an order under section 8(1) of this Act authorising its compulsory acquisition by a local roads authority, may, instead of being made and confirmed as provided in the said section 7(1) or 8(1), as the case may be, be made by the Secretary of State and the appropriate Minister in accordance with the provisions of Part I of Schedule 4 to this Act on the application of that development corporation or local roads authority;

• (b) an order under section 8(2) of this Act authorising the compulsory acquisition of that land by the Secretary of State may, instead of being made as provided in the said section 8(2), be made by the Secretary of State and the appropriate Minister in accordance with the provisions of Part II of the said Schedule 4;

and in relation to a compulsory purchase order made as provided in paragraph (a) or (b) above the provisions of Parts IV and V of Schedule 3 to this Act shall apply accordingly subject, in the case of the said Part V, to the modifications set out in Part III of Schedule 4 to this Act.

• (2) If any objection to an application for a compulsory purchase order to be made in accordance with subsection (1)(a) above, or to a proposal to make such an order in accordance with subsection (1)(b) above, is duly made by any statutory undertakers, and any of the land to which the application or proposal relates is operational land of those undertakers, then, unless that objection is withdrawn, any order made on the application or proposal shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure.