The Airports (Northern Ireland) Order 1994

Compulsory acquisition N.I.

Power to acquire land compulsorily N.I.

3.—(1) This Article applies to any regulated airport, other than a regulated airport managed by a district council under Article 17.

(2) The airport operator of an airport to which this Article applies may for any purpose connected with the safe and efficient performance of his functions as such acquire land compulsorily.

(3) The power of an airport operator to acquire land compulsorily under this Article may be exercised for the purpose of providing or improving any road which is to be provided or improved in pursuance of an order under Article 10 or for any other purpose for which land is required in connection with such an order.

(4) The power of an airport operator to acquire land compulsorily under this Article includes power to acquire, by the creation of a new right, an easement or other right over land.

(5) Where an airport operator proposes to acquire land compulsorily under this Article, the operator may apply to the Department for an order ( “a vesting order”) vesting that land in the operator and the Department shall have power to make a vesting order.

(6) Schedule 6 to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972F1 shall apply for the purposes of the acquisition of land by means of a vesting order made under this Article in the same manner as it applies to the acquisition of land by means of a vesting order made under that Act subject to the following modifications—

(a) for any reference to the council there shall be substituted a reference to the airport operator;

(b) for any reference to the Department concerned there shall be substituted a reference to the Department;

(c) for any reference to that Act there shall be substituted a reference to this Order;

(d) in paragraph 6(2) for the words from “the fund” onwards there shall be substituted “funds of the airport operator (in this Schedule referred to as “the compensation fund”), and shall be discharged by payments made by the airport operator”; and

(e) in paragraph 12(2) for “the clerk of the council” there shall be substituted “such person as may be designated for the purposes of this Schedule by the airport operator”.

(7) The power to make a vesting order under this Article in respect of land—

(a) which is the property of any public body which has power under any statutory provision to acquire land compulsorily; or

(b) which is declared by or under any statutory provision to be inalienable,

shall not, where representations objecting to the proposal for making the order have been duly made by the owner of the land and have not been withdrawn, be exercised in relation to that land unless the proposal for making the order has been approved by a resolution of the Assembly.

(8) In paragraph (7) “public body” means a body established by or under any statutory provision.

F1 1972 c.9 (NI)

Power of entry in connection with compulsory acquisition of land N.I.

4.—(1) Where an airport operator proposes to make an application to the Department for a vesting order under Article 3 in respect of any land, a person authorised in writing by the operator may, at any reasonable time, enter the land in order to make a survey for the purpose of determining whether the application should be made.

(2) A person authorised to enter any land under this Article shall not demand to do so as of right unless—

(a) 14 days notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier; and

(b) if required to do so, he has produced evidence of his authority.

(3) Any person who intentionally obstructs a person acting in the exercise of a power conferred by this Article shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Disposal of compulsorily acquired land N.I.

5.—(1) This Article applies to the disposal of any land—

(a) which was acquired compulsorily by the airport operator of any airport to which Article 3 applies or any predecessor in title of his under Article 3 or any other statutory provision; and

(b) which, at the time of the disposal, forms part of an airport or is attached to an airport and administered with it as a single unit or has, at any time since the date of its acquisition, formed part of an airport or been so attached and administered.

(2) An airport operator shall not dispose of any land to which this Article applies, or any estate in such land, within the period of 25 years beginning with the date of its acquisition as mentioned in paragraph (1), unless—

(a) the disposal is for the purposes of the provision of any of the services and facilities associated with the operation of an airport; or

(b) the disposal is of a leasehold interest in the land for a term of less than 7 years; or

(c) the Department consents to the disposal.

(3) Any consent of the Department under this Article may be given subject to such conditions as it thinks fit.

Protection of land from compulsory acquisition N.I.

6.  Where—

(a) an application for a vesting order is made by a person with power to acquire land compulsorily (other than an airport operator) in respect of land which includes land belonging to the airport operator of an airport to which Article 3 applies and used for any purpose connected with the performance of his functions as such; and

(b) that airport operator has made a representation to the Department concerned before the expiration of one month from the date of the last publication of the notice mentioned in paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 6 to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972F2 ,

the Department concerned shall not make the vesting order unless the Department has certified—

(i) that the land can be purchased and not replaced without serious detriment to the performance of those functions; or

(ii) that, if purchased, the land can be replaced by other land belonging to, or available for acquisition by, the airport operator without serious detriment to the performance of those functions.

F2 1972 c.9 (NI)