Compulsory Purchase Order

The government's plain-English guide to the process opens with the basic mechanism: 'Compulsory purchase is a legal mechanism by which certain bodies (known as ‘acquiring authorities’) can acquire land without the consent of the owner.' Making the order is only the first step; it has no effect unless a separate 'confirming authority' approves it, defined in the guide's glossary as follows: 'Once a CPO is made by the acquiring authority it must be approved by the confirming authority before it can be implemented.' The confirming authority is generally the relevant government minister, or an inspector appointed to decide on the minister's behalf in 'delegated cases'.

Before an authority can make an order it must formally resolve to use its powers: 'This is the formal decision (‘resolution’) to use compulsory purchase powers,' and the guidance elsewhere defines an acquiring authority as 'Bodies authorised through an Act of Parliament to acquire land by compulsion for a specific purpose.' Anyone affected can object, and if objections are not withdrawn the confirming authority will either hold a public inquiry or, if all remaining objectors agree, deal with the matter by written representations before deciding whether to confirm, modify or reject the order.

Compensation follows a settled principle rather than being left to negotiation: 'The overriding principle of compulsory purchase compensation is ‘equivalence’.' The guide explains this means those whose land is acquired 'should be left neither better nor worse off financially as a result of their land being acquired' — entitled to compensation reflecting their loss, no more and no less.