Regional Development Agencies Act 1998

20 Acquisition of land

(1) A regional development agency may for its purposes, or for purposes incidental thereto, acquire land by agreement or, on being authorised to do so by the Secretary of State, compulsorily.

(2) A regional development agency may, for those purposes, be authorised by the Secretary of State, by means of a compulsory purchase order, to acquire compulsorily such new rights over land as are specified in the order.

(3) Where the land referred to in subsection (1) or (2) forms part of a common, open space or fuel or field garden allotment, a regional development agency may acquire (by agreement or, on being authorised to do so by the Secretary of State, compulsorily) land for giving in exchange for the land or, as the case may be, rights acquired.

(4) The [1981 c. 67.] Acquisition of Land Act 1981 shall apply to the compulsory acquisition of land by virtue of subsection (1) or (3), subject to the modifications specified in Part I of Schedule 5.

(5) Schedule 3 to that Act shall apply to the compulsory acquisition of a right by virtue of subsection (2), but with the modification that the reference in paragraph 4(3) to statutory undertakers includes a reference to a regional development agency.

(6) Part II of Schedule 5 (which applies the [1965 c. 56.] Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 to the acquisition of rights by virtue of subsection (2)) shall have effect.

(7) The provisions of Part I of that Act (so far as applicable), other than section 31, shall apply to the acquisition of land by a regional development agency by agreement; and, in that Part as so applied, “land” has the meaning given by the [1978 c. 30.] Interpretation Act 1978.

(8) In subsection (2)—

• “new rights over land” means rights over land which are not in existence when the order specifying them is made;

• “compulsory purchase order” has the same meaning as in the Acquisition of Land Act 1981.