My colleagues in the Planning & Compulsory Purchase team, Anastasia Antoni and Georgia Hanson, highlight the key changes to MHCLG’s CPO Guidance and what to look out for. 

There can be few areas of the law which are in more obvious need of radical treatment than the law of compulsory purchase ... Such a position is unacceptable in a modern democratic society ...”[1] 

“The main problem is an unevenness of quality in the statutory materials... Much of the language is archaic and obscure, and many parts are out-dated or even obsolete”.[2]

Such comments were made in reports by the Law Commission in 2003/4, and whilst there have been various changes and piecemeal reforms since, compulsory purchase legislation still remains based on outdated Victorian fundamentals which can be traced back to its roots in the Inclosure Acts and building the railways during the industrial revolution in the 19^th century. 

Fast forward 20 years, and the country has a new government who have promised to “get Britain building through planning reform”. This sentiment will certainly be welcomed alongside the many changes to the planning regime implemented prior to the General Election. These include the implementation of part 9 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (“LURA”) and various new regulations updating the prescribed forms for compulsory purchase process and GVD implementation. We have also seen in September of this year, updated RICS Guidance for CPO surveyors, and last week an update to MHCLG’s Compulsory Purchase Process and The Crichel Down Rules – now re-named “Compulsory purchase process: guidance” (the Guidance), which was last updated in July 2019. These updates followed consultation with a number of bodies including the Compulsory Purchase Association (CPA), RICS CPO Advisory Forum, Valuation Office Agency, Planning Inspectorate, and Homes England.

The Guidance is a CPO practitioner’s bible (in England at least – a separate CPO Manual  is available in Wales), however it was in much need of update not only to reflect the LURA changes but to clarify parts where interpretation could be subjective (as was demonstrated by some of the recent CPO decisions over the past few years). 

A number of the key updates to the Guidance dated 3 October 2024 are summarised below:  

• For clarity, the guidance on Purchase Notices and the Crichel Down Rules have been removed and published separately;
• Further to consultation with the CPA, an updated model compensation claim form has been appended to the Guidance to ensure a more user-friendly experience for claimants;
• New guidance and a factsheet to supplement the use of directions to remove hope value under s14A[3] Land Compensation Act 1961 has been included. S14A directions are referred to throughout the Guidance but dealt with specifically in section 27 – notably the change is only applicable to acquisitions for the purpose of facilitating affordable housing, national health or educational facilities;
• There is a new section on using compulsory purchase to facilitate biodiversity net gain (section 13);
• There is a helpful acknowledgement that impediments to scheme delivery are not expected to be removed at the point of confirmation of a CPO, but that it must be shown that implementation is unlikely to be blocked by impediments (paragraph 15);
• Detailed advice is included on use of s172 Housing and Planning Act 2016 powers as regards access for surveys and valuation (paragraph 16); 
• There are requirements regarding the use of personal data under the GPDR and Data Protection Act 2018 (paragraph 22 in particular but references throughout);
• Updates have been made to reflect the various changes which have been made to compensation law and there are references to the latest updates to the prescribed forms made by regulation updates earlier this year;
• Reference has been added to the public sector equality duty under s149 Equality Act 2010 and the requirement for a specific statement outlining compliance following the Aylesbury Estate and Wards Corner CPO decisions (paragraph 215);
• There is a focus on the anticipated impact of the use of CPO powers and mitigations available to affected parties (paragraphs 2 and 13); and
• More explicit guidance for acquiring authorities on negotiations and engagement has been included (paragraphs 17 and 19) to align with the Vicarage Field decision. This recommends relocation where appropriate as per the Nicolson Shopping Centre CPO decision. Acquiring authorities are required to give reasons for any lack of compliance with this part of the Guidance in their Statement of Reasons. 

The Guidance as updated is generally favourable to acquiring authorities however there is an onus for them to focus on impacts and mitigation, and demonstrate genuine and meaningful attempts at negotiation through engagement with affected parties following recent decisions. 

It is positive that steps are being taken in the right direction within central government and with the Law Commission currently reviewing the compulsory purchase process, a consultation is expected to land imminently: so watch this space – there is more change to come. 

Burges Salmon advises on all aspects of compulsory purchase and compensation for acquiring authorities, landowners and claimants – please get in touch with Gary Soloman or Jen Ashwell for more information.