Opencast Coal Act 1958

9 Property exempt from inclusion in compulsory rights orders

(1) A compulsory rights order shall not comprise any part of a building which, at the time when the order is made, is a building whereof the whole or any part is occupied as a dwelling-house, or any part of the land adjacent to such a building which, at that time, is occupied) together with the whole or part of that building and either—

(a) is within fifty yards from a part of that building, or

(b) not being land falling within the preceding paragraph, and not being agricultural land, forms part of a garden, yard, court or forecourt belonging to that building.

(2) Without prejudice to the preceding subsection, an opencast site order, as confirmed by the Minister, shall not include any land which, on the date on which the authorisation referred to in the order was granted, was covered by a building, unless, on the granting of that authorisation.—

(a) the Minister gave directions under section two of this Act;

(b) those directions included conditions for the restoration of the building or its replacement by another building or (where a structure other than a building would be of comparable benefit to the land) by a structure of a description specified in the directions;

(c) those conditions were stated in the directions to be the conditions appearing to the Minister to be appropriate, having regard to the purpose for which the building was then used ; and

(d) those conditions specified a time within which the restoration or replacement of the building was to be completed, being a time not later than the end of the period specified in the order as the period for which the order is to have effect.

(3) No compulsory rights order shall be made so as to comprise any land which is or has been comprised in a previous compulsory rights order as confirmed by the Minister, other than a previous order which, as so confirmed, provided that its operation should be limited as mentioned in subsection (1) of the last preceding section.

(4) An opencast site order, as confirmed by the Minister, shall not comprise any land of which possession—

(a) has previously been taken in the exercise of emergency powers, and

(b) has at any time (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) been retained in the exercise of those powers for the purpose of working coal on that land, or on land contiguous therewith, by opencast operations, and

(c) has before the confirmation of the order ceased to be retained in the exercise of those powers,

unless, at the time of confirming the order, the Minister is satisfied that there are special circumstances existing at that time, or special circumstances relating to the land in question, which justify its inclusion in an opencast site order notwithstanding that possession thereof has previously been so taken and retained.