5Disposal of land by development corporations.
(1)Subject to any directions given by the Minister under this Act, the development corporation established for the purposes of a new town may dispose of any land acquired by them to such persons, in such manner, and subject to such covenants or conditions as they consider expedient for securing the development of the new town in accordance with proposals approved" by the Minister under the foregoing provisions of this Act:
Provided that a development corporation shall not have power, except with the consent of the Minister, to transfer the freehold in any land or to grant a lease of any land for a term of more than ninety-nine years, and the Minister shall not consent to any such disposal of land unless he is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances which render the disposal of the land in that manner expedient.
(2)The powers of a development corporation with respect to the disposal of land acquired by them under this Act shall be so exercised as to secure, so far as practicable, that persons who Were living or carrying on business or other activities on land so acquired shall, if they desire to obtain accommodation on land belonging to the corporation, and are willing to comply with any requirements of the corporation as to its development and use, have an opportunity to obtain thereon accommodation suitable to their reasonable requirements on terms settled with due regard to the price at which any such land has been acquired from them.
(3)Nothing in this Act shall be construed as enabling a development corporation to dispose of land by way of gift, mortgage or charge, but subject as aforesaid references in this Act to the disposal of land shall be construed as references to the disposal thereof in any manner, whether by way of sale, exchange or lease by the creation of any easement, right or privilege, or otherwise.