As a result of receiving a large number of queries on the disposal of land by local authorities under section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 (LGA 1972), we published an Ask the Team dealing with the question whether a local authority is obliged to take the highest price offered on a disposal of land. Following the publication of that document, we have continued to receive a number of questions from local authorities on this issue. In this post:
- We go through some of the queries raised by subscribers to see if other local authorities have faced similar issues and whether they can give any guidance based on their experiences.
- We invite our readers to raise any other issues around this area that they may be grappling with.
Queries that we have received include issues such as whether:
- A local authority that has acquired a disused burial ground under section 6 of the Open Spaces Act 1906 is able to dispose of the land to a purchaser other than a local authority.
- A local authority can dispense with the requirement to advertise the disposal of open space land.
Most recently, a local authority lawyer asked whether PLC was aware of any cases that supported the statement in DEFRA’s March 2012 Guidance on voluntary registration of land as a town or village green that the dedication of such land owned by local authorities “may” be a disposal of land for the purposes of section 123 of the LGA 1972. (In this instance, the land in question was public open space that was acquired through a section 106 planning obligation.)
Although we assume that a dedication of such land may be a disposal because it effectively deprives the council of its use, we (and the subscriber who raised the question) are not aware of any caselaw on the point. As stated above we are therefore posting this query to see whether any local authority lawyers have considered, or formed any views, on this point. If you are aware of any cases that consider a voluntary dedication and a local authority’s powers of disposal under section 123 of the LGA 1972, or have made a voluntary dedication of such land, it would be good to hear from you. You can submit your views, by typing a comment into the box at the end of this post and filling in your name and e-mail address (your e-mail address is not published), then pressing “submit comment”, alternatively please feel free to e-mail us directly at: feedback@practicallaw.com.
Finally, section 123 of the LGA 1972 appears to be something that many local authorities are having to consider in unusual contexts at present, if anyone has a query regarding its application that is not covered by the above post or our Ask the team article, and they would like other local authority lawyers to comment on, please also feel free to submit a comment below.
If you look at the definitions of “disposal” they always involve some concept of “giving away” or “transfer”. In those terms, there is no “disposal”, although there may be a question of an appropriation. Surely the situation is analogous to highways where the underlying ownership does not change by the land is “dedicated” to a specific purpose.
Andrew Millross
Partner
Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP