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CPO Talking Heads: November

Blight Caused by Public Works: Is the Statutory Regime fit for Purpose?

This event runs as an informal discussion with a small panel of leading and informed practitioners extracting the nuances from this months topic "Blight Caused by Public Works: Is the Statutory Regime fit for Purpose?". It will discuss practical issues that arise, with participants in the meeting being encouraged to listen, join in, ask questions and share comments.

Module Duration: 59 minutes

Recorded: 30/11/2022

Areas covered

The CPA have partnered with CPT Events to bring you CPO Talking Heads.

Blight refers to the adverse impacts on the value and/or the marketability of property caused by the actual or perceived effect of proposed public works.
 
Statutory blight is defined in sections 149-157 and Schedule 13 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (‘1990 Act’). Schedule 13 is tightly defined around land proposed for purchase, and the eligibility criteria also restrict access to residential or small business occupiers. Some acquiring authorities and promoters of major schemes offer discretionary purchase schemes which go beyond the statutory blight provisions, but there is no obligation to offer a scheme and the terms vary across projects if a scheme is offered at all.
 
In this talking heads session, we will look at what blight is, what it is not and to what extent property owners can or should be protected from its effects. The CPA has championed reform of this area of CPO work.
 
Areas that will be covered:

What is Blight and What is not Blight?
  • The pros and cons of living in a society
  • Purchase vs compensation
  • Triggers and a moving target
Statutory Blight; is it Fit for Purpose? 
  • Balancing fairness – impeding infrastructure vs hardship
  • Who should we protect?
  • “Foundation layer” or one size fits all?
Customised Blight Schemes 
  • Are they the right answer?
  • Should provision be discretionary?
  • Should content be fully or only partly discretionary?
  • Can they make things worse?
Process and Technical Matters
  • Delays undermine the purpose of Blight notices
  • Valuation date drifts after acceptance
  • Period of limbo where no possession date to work to
  • Why are blight notices served? Is time a factor
  • Should there be time limit for possession?

November's Talking Heads