Rachel Reeves 'unfairly vilifying' landowners for blocking developments
Rachel Reeves has been accused of “unfairly vilifying” landowners as blockers to developments and major infrastructure projects.
The Chancellor has said that “where landowners are intransigent, or insist on unreasonable demands, we are ready to acquire land using compulsory powers” to drive through housing and transport work.
Ms Reeves was speaking about the Oxford to Cambridge Arc, however her comments come with major infrastructure projects, like Northern Powerhouse Rail, planned for Yorkshire.
The region has already borne the brunt of the compulsory purchase process, which the Country Land and Business Association has described as “unfit for purpose”, with HS2.
It was recently revealed that HS2 continued to compulsory purchase properties in Yorkshire, long after Boris Johnson cancelled the Leeds leg in 2021.
Some £11m was spent buying up properties in south Leeds, Pontefract, Doncaster and Sheffield over the next two years.
Speaking about Ms Reeves’ comments, Harriet Ranson, the CLA’s regional director north, said: “Landowners have been unfairly blamed for being ‘blockers to development’ with zero consideration given to the fact that the land desired forms an integral part of their family business, homestead and responsibility.
“Landowners are also vilified by their local communities as being money grabbing if development occurs, and now the Chancellor is, irresponsibly, doing the same, accusing them of not giving it away because the state thinks it has a higher purpose for the land. They cannot win.
“On our island nation land is a finite commodity, therefore Landowners must be recompensed competitively for the loss of their business if the State wishes to purchase it.’’
“The compulsory purchase process has long been unfit for purpose and needs wholesale reform.
“As it stands, large infrastructure projects can acquire land they don’t need and subsequently sell it on at a profit.
“In the meantime, the entire process is slow and bureaucratic, sometimes taking years for the landowner to get paid for land that has been compulsorily acquired and which they might well have preferred to keep in the first place.
“Then, to add insult to injury, acquiring authorities all too frequently behave badly in their treatment of landowners both during the construction phase of the project and in the handling of the subsequent claims.
“Under these circumstances, it is hardly surprising that landowners are wary in their approach to development schemes.”
The CLA has written to Ms Reeves over her comments. A Government spokesperson said: “We will use compulsory purchase powers only where necessary and in the public interest.”