REPORT ON TOWN PLANNING BILL. [H.L.] APPENDIX I. AMENDMENTS MADE BY THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE. Clause 1, page 2, line 20: At end insert "and conclusive ". Clause 2, page 2, lines 21 and 22: Leave out "within the meaning of "this Act". Clause 4, page 4, line 11: After "passed" insert "or where before "the thirty-first day of July, 1919, or by virtue of any of the provisions "of this Act the preparation, adoption or making of a town planning "scheme has been authorised ". or ". Clause 4, page 4, line 13: Leave out " Clause 4, page 4, line 13: After "adoption "insert" or making ". Clause 7, page 7, lines 24 and 25: Leave out "and binding on all 66 persons Clause 8, page 7, line 38: Leave out "was " and insert "were ". Clause 10, page 9, line 2: After "effect" insert "or after the date "when the Minister has authorised a scheme to be made by virtue of any power conferred on him for that purpose by this Act". Clause 10, page 9, line 3: Leave out "nineteenth day of August" and insert "thirty-first day of July ". 66 Clause 14, page 12, line 24: After "imposed" insert or ". Clause 14, page 12, lines 25 to 27: Leave out "provided that, where "the representation is that a local authority have failed to adopt a scheme, "the Minister ". Clause 15, page 13, line 8: Leave out " has " and insert "have ". Clause 16, page 13, lines 22 to 24: Leave out "for the purpose of such Ia scheme for the area in which the land is situate ". Third Schedule, Part II, page 21, line 43: After "any "scheme or ". Third Schedule, Part II, page 21, line 44: "or appropriation ". Third Schedule, Part II, page 22, line 1: occurs insert "scheme or Third Schedule, Part II, page 22, line 2: "or appropriation ". "' insert After "acquisition" insert After "the" where it first After "acquisition" insert Third Schedule, Part II, page 22, line 4: After "the insert "scheme or ". Third Schedule, Part II, page 22, line 14: After "scheme or ". 66 such insert Third Schedule, Part II, page 22, line 15: After "the" where it first occurs insert scheme or 66 Third Schedule, Part II, page 22, line 19: After "acquired" insert "or appropriated ". APPENDIX II. CLAUSE 4. By Section 58 (2) of the Act of 1909 as amended by the Third Schedule to the Act of 1919, no compensation is payable in respect of any building injuriously affected by a town planning scheme, if the building was erected after the date of the resolution of the local authority to prepare or adopt a scheme; or, in the special case to which the provisions reproduced in proviso (i) to Clause 2 (1) apply, the date when the resolution takes effect; 54244 B and consequently land comprised in the area covered by the resolution of a local authority is sterilised for the time being, because no person can safely build in the area until he knows whether his building will or will hot contravene the provisions of the scheme. In order to mitigate this hardship upon persons desiring to build, Section 45 of the Act of 1919 empowered the Local Government Board (the predecessors of the Minister of Health) to make special or general orders permitting the development of estates and building operations to proceed pending the preparation or adoption and approval of the scheme, and this not only where a resolution to prepare or adopt a scheme has been passed, but also "where before "the passing of this Act the preparation or adoption of a town planning "scheme has been authorised." This refers to the earlier procedure under the Act of 1909 (superseded by that of the Act of 1919) by which no local authority could prepare or adopt a scheme without the prior authorisation of the Minister. The substance of Section 45 is embodied in the clause, but the words above quoted did not appear in the text of the Bill as introduced. The Committee were informed, however, that authorisation under the Act of 1909 was given in a large number of cases which are still outstanding and in which no completed scheme has yet been submitted for the Minister's approval. It appeared to them, therefore, that the words in question ought to be reproduced in the clause, from which indeed they think it probable that they were originally omitted by a drafting oversight. But it also appeared to them to be necessary to limit the application of the words to authorisations given before the 31st July, 1919, the date when the Act of 1919 came into force and the procedure under the former Act was superseded; and they have added a reference to this date accordingly. By Section 21 of the Act of 1923 the requirement of the Minister's authorisation to the making of a town planning scheme was again made obligatory in the case of a new type of town planning scheme, introduced for the first time by that Act, i.e., where for the purpose of preserving the character and features of a locality possessing special architectural, historic or artistic interest, it is desired to make a scheme notwithstanding that the land or any part thereof is already developed: see Sub-clause (2) of Clause 1 of the Bill, which reproduces Section 21 of the Act of 1923. The Committee cannot doubt that the intention of Parliament in enacting Section 21 of the Act of 1923 was that the provisions of Section 45 of the Act of 1919 should apply so as to permit development orders, and they nave given effect to this view by an amendment of the clause. CLAUSE 8. Section 60 of the Act of 1909 provides that the responsible authority may be authorised to purchase land compulsorily in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as a local authority may be authorised to purchase land situated in an urban district for the purposes of Part III of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, as amended by Sections 2 and 45 of the Act of 1909. Schedule I of the Act of 1909, which regulates the compulsory acquisition of land for the purposes of Part III of the Act of 1890, contains special provisions with respect to land situate in a borough or urban district, requiring the appointment of an impartial person, not in the employment of any Government department, to hold a local inquiry, and providing that if the person so appointed reported against the acquisition of the land, and the Local Government Board in spite of the report confirmed the order, the order was to be provisional only, requiring confirmation by Parliament. These special provisions in the Schedule to the Act of 1909 were repealed by Section 11 of the Act of 1919; but that Section by Sub-section (4) provides that "the amendments to the said Schedule effected by this Act "shall apply to that Schedule as originally enacted, but not as applied The "by any other enactment." The object of this sub-section was to prevent the amendments of the Schedule to the Act of 1909 effected by the Act of 1919 extending to the acquisition of land under the Education Act, 1918, which had applied to the acquisition of land for educational purposes the provisions of the First Schedule to the Housing Act, 1909. Ministry of Health have always acted on the assumption that the provisions of the Act of 1909 applying to the acquisition of land for town planning purposes the provisions of the Schedule to that Act relating to the acquisition of land for housing purposes is not an "other enactment " within the meaning of Sub-section (4) of Section 11 of the Act of 1919. The Schedule of the Bill has been drawn in accordance with this interpretation of the law, and the Committee think this is the proper view. CLAUSE 10. As explained with regard to Clause 4, Section 58 (2) of the Act of 1909, as amended by the Act of 1919 (reproduced by Sub-section (2) of this clause), provides that no compensation is payable in respect of any building injuriously affected by a town planning scheme if the building is erected after the date of the resolution of the local authority to prepare or adopt the scheme. It, however, contains no reference to cases prior to the Act of 1919, when the procedure was that a local authority could prepare or adopt a scheme only after being authorised by the Minister. Section 45 of the Act of 1919, reproduced by Clause 4, empowers the Minister to grant development orders not only in cases where under the procedure of the Act of 1919 the local authority have passed a resolution to prepare a scheme, but also in cases where under the procedure prior to the Act of 1919 the local authority had been authorised by the Minister to prepare a scheme. As, obviously, full effect cannot be given to Section 45 without a reference in Sub-section (2) of this clause to the latter type of case, the Committee have passed the clause containing a reference to both types of case. For the reason stated in the third paragraph of the Note on Clause 4, the Committee are of opinion that words should be inserted in Sub-section (2) to deal with the case of town planning schemes authorised to be made under Section 21 of the Act of 1923. This amendment is consequential on the amendment which has been made in Clause 4, and is, in the opinion of the Committee, necessary for the purpose of making the compensation provisions of the Bill uniform in all cases where a town planning scheme is made by a local authority, whether the prior authorisation of the Minister is required or not. CLAUSE 16. The Committee after careful consideration were of opinion that in Sub-clause (1) (b) the words "for the purpose of such a scheme for the area in which the land is situate" ought to be omitted. They found it impossible to attach any intelligible meaning to the omitted words, when read along with the earlier words of paragraph (b). They are satisfied that the omitted words are otiose, since if the land is purchased for the purpose of a town planning scheme, it must be land with regard to which a town planning scheme may be made; and therefore it seemed to them that no alteration would be made in the law if they were omitted altogether. 54244 B2 SIXTH REPORT BY THE Select Committee appointed to join with a Committee of the House of Commons to consider all Consolidation Bills in the present Session BEING A REPORT UPON THE TOWN PLANNING (SCOTLAND) BILL [H.L.]. ORDERED TO REPORT THAT 1. The Committee have considered the Bill and made in it such amendments as seemed to them to be required to bring it into conformity with the existing law and to be desirable to improve its form. These amendments are set out in Appendix I to this Report. The Committee consider that the Bil, as amended, represents the existing law relating to the town planning in Scotland, and that the Bill should be allowed to proceed. 2. As is invariably the case with Consolidation Bills, questions arose before the Committee as to the exact effect of later enactments upon earlier enactments, and as to whether the Bill when reproducing the exact language of the existing enactments did not thereby in some cases alter the law. The cases in which such doubts arose are set out in Appendix II to this Report, with the manner in which the Committee dealt with them. 3. The Committee were furnished with a Table of Comparison showing how each section of the existing statutes relating to town planning is dealt with in the consolidating Bill. It appeared to the Committee that it would serve a useful purpose if this table were prefixed to the print of the Bill, and they have accordingly directed that this should be done. TOWN PLANNING (SCOTLAND) BILL [H.L.]. APPENDIX I. AMENDMENTS MADE BY THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE. Clause 1, page 2, line 24, at end insert "and conclusive ". Clause 2, page 2, lines 25 and 26, leave out "within the meaning of this Act ". Clause 4, page 4, line 13. after "nineteen "insert" or by virtue of any of the provisions of this Act". Clause 4, page 4, line 13, insert " or making ". Clause 4, page 4, line 14, leave out "was" and insert "has beer ". Clause 7, page 7 lines 31 and 32, leave out "and binding on sil 29 persons Clause 10, page 9, line 5, after "effect" insert the following words: "or after the date when the Board have authorised a scheme to be "made by virtue of any power conferred on them for that purpose by this Act". Clause 14, page 12, line 41 to page 13, line 5, leave out the proviso to Clause 14. Clause 15, page 13, lines 14 to 16, leave out "for the purpose of such "a scheme for the area in which the land is situated ". Third Schedule, page 20, line 11, after seventy" insert one". Third Schedule, page 20, line 31, 66 after any "insert" scheme or Third Schedule, page 20, line 32, after appropriation." 66 "acquisition insert 66 от 66 Or Third Schedule, page 20, line 32, after common "'insert OT". Third Schedule, page 20, line 33, leave out "or allotment ". Third Schedule, page 20, line 33, after "the" where it first occurs insert "scheme or Third Schedule, page 20, "or appropriation ". Third Schedule, page 20, line 35, after "the" insert "scheme or ". Third Schedule, page 21, line 3, after "such" where it first occurs insert "scheme or Third Schedule, page 21, line 4, after "the" where it first occurs insert "scheme or ". 66 Third Schedule, page 21, line 8, after common "insert" or ". By Section 58 (2) of the Act of 1909, as amended by the Third Schedule to the Act of 1919, no compensation is payable in respect of any building injuriously affected by a town planning scheme, if the building is erected after the date of the resolution of the local authority to prepare or adopt a scheme, or in the special case to which the provisions reproduced in proviso (i) to Clause 2 apply, the date the resolution takes effect; and consequently land comprised in the area covered by the resolution of a local authority is sterilised for the time being, because no person can safely build in the area until he knows whether his building will or will not contravene the provisions of the scheme. In order to mitigate this hardship upon persons desiring to build, Section 37 of the Act of 1919 empowers the Scottish Board of Health to make special or general orders permitting the development of estates and building operations to proceed pending the preparation or adoption and approval of the scheme, and this not only where a resolution to prepare or adopt a scheme has been passed, but also "where before the passing of this Act the preparation or "adoption of a town planning scheme has been authorised." This refers to the earlier procedure under the Act of 1909 (superseded by that of the Act of 1919) by which no local authority could prepare or adopt a scheme without the prior authorisation of the Board. The provisions of Section 37 are embodied in this Clause. 54244 B 3 |