The Board had power under the 1870 Act to acquire land to build school accommodation. The 1845 Act was to apply ‘with respect to the purchase of land’ for the purposes of the 1870 Act. The Board began to erect a school building on a site which they had acquired by agreement. The plaintiff alleged that it infringed a restrictive covenant attached to his land, and sought an injunction.
Held: The claim failed. The work was authorised by the statute, and the only remedy for the infringement of the private right was a claim for compensation under section 68 of the 1845 Act.
Lindley LJ thought the language of the 1845 statute to be unhappy, but: ‘when regard is had to the object of the section, it would be misreading the Lands Clauses Act if we were to hold that a person injuriously affected by the construction of the works could not have the benefit of section 68 if the company had managed to acquire the land by agreement rather than by the exercise of their compulsory powers. I have not the slightest doubt myself that s. 68 properly applies to all cases of purchase by railway companies under their powers, and to all cases of purchase by school boards under the powers conferred upon them by this Act of 1870.’
Kay LJ would not confine the words of section 68 to works on land which had been acquired compulsorily.
Lindley LJ, Kay LJ, A L Smith LJ
[1896] 1 CH 437
Elementary Education Act 1870, Land Clauses Consolidation Act 1845
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Wrotham Park Settled Estates v Hertsmere Borough Council CA 12-Apr-1993
Land had been purchased under compulsory purchase powers. It had been subject to restrictive covenants in favour of neighbouring land which would have prevented the development now implemented. The question was how the compensation should be . .
Cited – Moto Hospitality Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport CA 26-Jul-2007
The company sought damages to its business on a motorway service station when works closed an access road.
Held: The Secretary of State’s appeal succeeded. A claim for compensation under section 10 had not been established, at least in respect . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 14 October 2021; Ref: scu.186374