Defence of the Realm (Acquisition of Land) Act 1916

12 Interpretation

(1) For the purposes of this Act, and of the provisions of the Lands Clauses Acts incorporated with this Act, land includes any building or part of a building, any pier, jetty, or other structure on the shore or bed of the sea or any river, and any easement or right over or in relation to land.

(2) Where consideration has been given or an advance made by the State for the erection, construction, or making of any building, work, or improvement on over or under any land for purposes connected with the present war, or where any money which would otherwise have been payable to the State has with the consent of a Government department been applied towards the erection, construction, or making of any such building, work, or improvement, the building, work, or improvement shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to have been erected, constructed, or made wholly or partly, as the case may be, at the expense of the State.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, the expression "building" includes machinery and plant fixed - or attached to the building, the expression "common" shall include any land subject to be enclosed under the Inclosure Acts, 1845 to 1882, and any town or village green, and any other land subject to any right of common; the expression "open space " shall mean any land laid out as a public garden or public park or used for the purposes of public recreation ; and the expression " allotment" shall mean any allotment set out for any public purpose under an Inclosure Act or award.

(4) For the purposes of this Act references to the Defence Acts, 1842 to 1873, and the Military Lands Acts, 1892 to 1903, shall include references to those Acts as applied by the [58 & 59 Vict. c. 35.] Naval Works Act, 1895.

(5) For the purposes of this Act a competent naval or military authority acting under the Acts relating to the Defence of the Realm shall be deemed to be a Government department.