Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980

136 Objects and general powers. E+W+S

(1) The object of an urban development corporation shall be to secure the regeneration of its area.

(2) The object is to be achieved in particular by the following means (or by such of them as seem to the corporation to be appropriate in the case of its area), namely, by bringing land and buildings into effective use, encouraging the development of existing and new industry and commerce, creating an attractive environment and ensuring that housing and social facilities are available to encourage people to live and work in the area.

(3) Subject to sections 137 and 138 below, for the purpose of achieving the object an urban development corporation may—

(a) acquire, hold, manage, reclaim and dispose of land and other property;

(b) carry out building and other operations;

(c) seek to ensure the provision of water, electricity, gas, sewerage and other services;

(d) carry on any business or undertaking for the purposes of the object; and

(e) generally do anything necessary or expedient for the purposes of the object or for purposes incidental to those purposes.

(4) No provision of this Part of this Act by virtue of which any power is exercisable by an urban development corporation shall be construed as limiting the effect of subsection (3) above.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred on urban development corporations by this Act, such a corporation, for the purpose of achieving the object,—

(a) may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, contribute such sums as he with the Treasury’s concurrence may determine towards expenditure incurred or to be incurred by any local authority or statutory undertakers in the performance of any statutory functions of the authority or undertakers, including expenditure so incurred in the acquisition of land; and

(b) may, with the like consent, contribute such sums as the Secretary of State with the like concurrence may determine by way of assistance towards the provision of amenities.

(6) To avoid doubt it is declared that subsection (3) above relates only to the capacity of an urban development corporation as a statutory corporation; and nothing in this section authorises such a corporation to disregard any enactment or rule of law.

(7) A transaction between a person and an urban development corporation shall not be invalidated by reason of any failure by the corporation to observe the object in subsection (1) above or the requirement in subsection (3) above that the corporation shall exercise the powers conferred by that subsection for the purpose of achieving that object.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 136: exercise of powers continued (31.12.1995) by S.I. 1995/3098, art. 4