Part 9: Compulsory Purchase Procedure Section 185: Time limits for implementation Effect
Subsection (1) explains this section amends the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981.
	Subsections (2) and (3) make consequential amendments to sections 7 and 8 of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981 to refer to new section 8A (as introduced by subsection (4)).
	Subsection (4) inserts new section 8A (postponement of vesting by agreement) into the 1981 Act. This allows the acquiring authority and the owner of any interest in the land to agree a later date for transfer of ownership of that interest in the land than was specified in the notice given under section 4.
	Subsection (5) makes a consequential change to section 10 of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981 to clarify that compensation liability in respect of the interest in the land which is the subject of an agreement under subsection (4) applies from the new vesting date.
	Subsection (6) makes consequential amendment to paragraph 5 of Schedule A1 to the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981. It amends the definition of ‘original vesting date’ to provide for any agreements to vary the vesting date.
	Subsection (7) makes consequential amendment to section 5A of the Land Compensation Act 1961 to clarify the relevant valuation date for the purposes of calculating compensation in relation to the interest in the land which is subject to an agreement to vary the vesting date. It inserts new subsection (4A) to provide specifically for circumstances where an agreement is in place. It clarifies that the relevant valuation date for the interest in the land which is the subject of an agreement is the earlier of the date the land vests and the date when the assessment is made.
Example
An acquiring authority will give notice to an owner of land that it intends to acquire that person’s interest in the land. An acquiring authority will give at least three months’ advance notice and the date for acquisition will be set. An acquiring authority and an owner of the land will now be able to agree in writing a different date between that point and the acquisition date. That might be because the owner of the land is relocating to another property and needs to tie in the acquisition to the relocation, the exact date for which may only become apparent after the original acquisition date was set. In the circumstances, there would be a more suitable date for acquisition than the one set by the acquiring authority.