Welsh Development Agency Act 1975

The Welsh Development Agency

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• (1) The functions specified in the following provisions of this Act are conferred upon the National Assembly for Wales (in this Act referred to as the “Assembly”).

• (2) The purposes for which the Assembly may exercise its functions under this Act are—

• (a) to further the economic and social development of Wales or any part of Wales , and in that connection to provide, maintain or safeguard employment;

• (b) to promote efficiency in business and international competitiveness in Wales;

• (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (d) to further the improvement of the environment in Wales (having regard to existing amenity).

• (3) Without prejudice to the following provisions of this Act, the functions of the Assemblyunder this Act shall be—

• (a) to promote Wales as a location for businesses, or assist or concert its promotion as such a location;

• (b) to provide finance for persons carrying on or intending to carry on businesses;

• (c) to carry on industrial undertakings and to establish and carry on new businesses;

• (d) otherwise to promote or assist the establishment, growth . . . , modernisation or development of businesses, or a particular business or particular businesses;

• (da) to make land available for development;

• (e) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (f) to provide sites, premises, services and facilities for businesses;

• (g) to manage sites and premises for businesses;

• (h) to bring derelict land into use or improve its appearance; . . .

• (i) to undertake the development and redevelopment of the environment.

• (j) to promote the private ownership of interests in businesses by the disposal of securities and other property held by the Assembly or any of its subsidiaries.

• (4) In exercising its functions under this Act the Assembly shall have regard to the requirements of agriculture and efficient land management.

• (5) The Assembly may only exercise functions under subsection (3)(c) above through subsidiaries.

• (6) The Assembly shall have power to do anything, whether in Wales or elsewhere, which is calculated to facilitate the discharge of its functions specified in subsection (3) above, or is incidental or conducive to their discharge.

• (7) In particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (6) above, the Assembly shall have power in connection with its functions under this Act—

• (a) to acquire, hold and dispose of securities;

• (b) to form bodies corporate;

• (c) to form partnerships with other persons;

• (d) to make loans;

• (e) to guarantee obligations (arising out of loans or otherwise) incurred by other persons;

• (f) to make grants;

• (g) to act as agent for other persons;

• (h) to acquire and dispose of land, plant, machinery and equipment and other property;

• (i) to manage land, and to develop land and carry out works on land, and to maintain works or assist in their maintenance;

• (k) to make land, plant, machinery and equipment and other property available for use by other persons;

• (l) to provide advisory or other services or facilities in relation to any of its functions, or assist in its provision; and

• (m) to promote or assist in the promotion of publicity relating to any of the functions of the Assemblyunder this Act.

• (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (14) The Assembly shall, after consultation with such local authorities, National Park authorities and other bodies as appear to the Assembly to have an interest, from time to time prepare and publish programmes for the performance of such of its functions under this Act as it considers appropriate.

• (15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (16) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that nothing in this Act is to be construed as authorising the disregard by the Assembly of any enactment or rule of law.

Constitution and status

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Overseas Aid

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Ancillary powers

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The Assembly shall have power in connection with its functions under this Act—

• (a) to make such charge for any of its services as it thinks fit;

• (b) to accept any gift made to it for the purposes of any such functions, and subject to the terms of the gift and to the provisions of this Act, to apply it for those purposes;

• (c) to carry out or commission the carrying out of such enquiries, investigations or researches as the Assembly may deem necessary or expedient for the purposes of such functions.

Assistance to Agency from public authorities and other persons

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• (1) The Assembly may appoint a local authority, a National Park authority, the development corporation of a new town or any other body or person to act as its agent to carry out the Assembly's functions mentioned in section 1(3)(a) , (da) and (f) to (i) above or section 21C below.

• (1A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) For the purpose of assisting the Assembly to carry out any of the functions referred to in subsection (1) above, a local authority, a National Park authority or a development corporation, or any other body of a public nature, on being so requested by the Assembly, may place the services of any of their staff at the Assembly's disposal, on such terms as may be agreed with the Assembly.

Power to form committees

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• (1) The Assembly may establish such committees for giving advice to the Assembly about the discharge of any of its functions under this Act as it considers appropriate.

• (2) The members of any such committee are to be appointed by the Assembly and may be either members of the Assembly or persons who are not members.

Dissolution of Welsh Industrial Estates Corporation

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Transfer to Agency of land held under Local Employment Act 1972

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Provision of sites and premises for industry

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• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) For the purpose of providing or managing sites and premises for businesses and providing related facilities, or making land available for development the Assembly shall have power to modernise, adapt or reconstruct buildings; and, where the execution of the works will interrupt the use of the buildings or works by any undertaking, the power to acquire land conferred by section 1(7)(h) above shall include power to acquire land for the purpose of providing premises for the occupation of that undertaking or of otherwise meeting its requirements, and the Assembly may for that purpose erect buildings and carry out works on any land so acquired.

• (3) The Assembly may, if it considers there are circumstances which justify the giving of special assistance, provide premises for the occupation of a business free of rent for such time as it thinks appropriate

Services etc. for development of industry

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The Assembly may undertake or assist in the provision of means of access or other services or facilities in or for an area where this appears to it to be expedient for the purpose of contributing to or supporting the development of businesses in that area.

Application of Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 to Agency premises

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• (1) The following section shall be inserted after section 60 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 :—

(60A) (1) Where the property comprised in a tenancy consists of premises of which the Welsh Development Agency is the landlord, and the Secretary of State certifies that it is necessary or expedient, for the purpose of providing employment appropriate to the needs of the area in which the premises are situated, that the use or occupation of the property should be changed, paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 58(1) above shall apply as they apply where such a certificate is given as is mentioned in that subsection. (2) Where the court makes an order under Part II of this Act for the grant of a new tenancy of any such premises as aforesaid, and the Secretary of State certifies that it is necessary or expedient as aforesaid that the tenancy should be subject to a term, specified in the certificate, prohibiting or restricting the the tenant from assigning the tenancy or subletting, charging or parting with possession of the premises or any part of the premises or changing the use of the premises or any part of the premises, the court shall determine that the terms of the tenancy shall include the terms specified in the certificate.

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• (2) In section 59 of that Act (compensation for exercise of special powers in relation to tenancies)—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) after subsection (1) there shall be inserted the following subsection:—

(1A) No compensation shall be recoverable under subsection (1) above where the certificate was given under section 60A below and either— (a) the premises vested in the Welsh Development Agency under section 7 (property of Welsh Industrial Estates Corporation) or 8 (land held under Local Employment Act 1972) of the Welsh Development Agency Act 1975, or (b) the tenant was not tenant of the premises when the said Agency acquired the interest by virtue of which the certificate was given.

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Selective financial assistance

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Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board

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• (1) The Assembly shall appoint a board to be called the Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board, to advise it with respect to the exercise of its functions under section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982.

• (2) The Board shall consist of a chairman and not less than four nor more than seven other members.

• (3) The members of the Board shall include persons who appear to the Assembly to have wide experience of, and to have shown capacity in, industry, banking, accounting, finance or the organisation or representation of workers.

• (4) If the Board make a recommendation with respect to any matter at the request of the Assembly and the Assembly exercises its functions under section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 contrary to their recommendation, it shall, if the Board so request, publish a statement as to the matter.

Transfer of publicly-owned property to Agency

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The environment

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• (1) The Assembly's duty under section 1(14) above to prepare and publish, after consultation with such local authorities, National Park authorities and other bodies as appear to the Assembly to have an interest, programmes for the performance of the Assembly's functions under this Act, includes in particular a duty to prepare and publish programmes, to be implemented either by the Assembly itself, or by the Assembly acting jointly with any other authority or person, or through persons or authorities acting on behalf of the Assembly, for the improvement, development or redevelopment of the environment in Wales.

• (2) The Assembly may make payments to any authority or person of such amount and in such manner as it may determine for carrying out work which the Assembly considers will contribute to the purposes of such a programme.

Derelict land

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• (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where it appears to the Assembly that steps should be taken for the purpose of—

• (a) reclaimimg or improving any land to which this subsection applies; or

• (b) enabling any such land to be brought into use,

it may exercise as respects that land the powers specified in subsection (3) below.

• (2) Subsection (1) above applies to—

• (a) land which is derelict, neglected or unsightly; and

• (b) except as respects the exercise of the power specified in subsection (3)(a) below in relation to a person other than a local authority in whose area it is situated, land which is not derelict, neglected or unsightly but is likely to become so by reason of actual or apprehended collapse of the surface as the result of the carrying out of relevant operations which have ceased to be carried out.

• (3) The Assembly’s powers under this subsection are—

• (a) a power to pay to any person grants of such amounts and payable at such times and subject to such conditions as it may from time to time determine in respect of relevant expenditure incurred by that person;

• (b) a power, after consultation with such local authorities and other bodies as appear to the Assembly to have an interest, to acquire . . ., for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1) above, the land to which that subsection applies or any other land; and

• (c) a power to carry out, for that purpose, any works on the land to which that subsection applies or any other land;

and the Assembly’s powers under this subsection are in addition to, and not in derogation from, any power conferred on it by any other provision of this Act.

• (4) In subsection (3)(a) above “relevant expenditure” means expenditure incurred, with the approval of the Assembly, in or in connection with—

• (a) the carrying out, for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1) above, of any works on the land to which that subsection applies or any other land;

• (b) the carrying out of a survey of the land to which that subsection applies for determining whether any works for that purpose should be undertaken (whether or not such works are carried out); and

• (c) in relation to a local authority in whose area the land to which that subsection applies is situated, the acquisition, for that purpose, of that land or any other land.

• (5) Grants under subsection (3)(a) above may be made in such manner as appears to the Assembly to be requisite.

• (6) The amount of the grant which may be paid under subsection (3)(a) above to a person other than a local authority in whose area the land to which subsection (1) above applies is situated shall not exceed—

• (a) the prescribed percentage of the relevant expenditure; or

• (b) in the case of a periodical grant in respect of costs from time to time incurred or treated as incurred in respect of the borrowing of money to defray the relevant expenditure, the prescribed percentage of the costs so incurred or treated as incurred.

In this subsection “the prescribed percentage” means 80 per cent. or such other percentage as may be prescribed by order made by the Assembly.

• (7) After carrying out works on land acquired under subsection (3)(b) above the Assembly may dispose of it free of charge to a local authority or the development corporation of a new town for the purpose of its use as a public open space.

• (8) A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (6) above may make such transitional provision as appears to the Assembly to be necessary or expedient.

• (9) In this section—

“local authority” means—

• (a) a county council or county borough council . . .

• (b) . . .

“relevant operations” means underground mining operations other than operations for the purpose of the working and getting coal, or of coal and other minerals worked with coal, or for the purpose of getting any product from coal in the course of working and getting coal.

Financial duties of the Agency

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Finances of the Agency

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• (1) Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Agency and the media

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Other limits on Agency's powers

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Expenses

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Acquisition, disposal and appropriation of land

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Powers of entry

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Power to obtain information

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Service of documents

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Crown land

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Interpretation

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• (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

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• “the appropriate Minister” in relation to any statutory undertakers in relation to whom it is defined by section 265 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or any other Act, has the meaning assigned to it by the Act so defining it;

• “business” includes any industrial, commercial or professional activities (whether or not with a view to profit) and the activities of any government department or any local or other public authority;

• “common” includes any land subject to be enclosed under the Inclosure Acts 1845 to 1882 and any town or village green;

• “corporate joint committee” means a corporate joint committee to which Part 6 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 applies by virtue of regulations under Part 5 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021;