Notwithstanding any interest of the Crown in Crown land, the power to acquire land compulsorily under this Act may, with the consent of the appropriate authority, be exercised in relation to any interest therein which is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown.

In this section, “Crown land” means land an interest in which belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and land an interest in which belongs to a government department or is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, and “the appropriate authority” has the meaning assigned to it by section 253(7) of the M1Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972; and the provisions of the said section 253(7) as to the determination of questions shall apply for the purposes of this section.

None of the provisions of this Act relating to Crown land shall be construed as prejudicing any Crown interest therein, and nothing in this Act shall affect the powers or duties of the Crown Estate Commissioners.