A Director at the Centre for Policy Studies has outlined the latest “danger” that farmers face amid a fresh blow with new measures that could force them to sell their land for less than its value.
Under the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, councils would gain greater powers to buy land through compulsory purchase orders.
Local authorities would be able to acquire the land at its current price rather than what it would be worth if developed.
Rob Colville, Director at the Centre for Policy Studies, told GB News that this is a “dangerous” move on behalf of the Labour government.
Rob Colville outlined the “dangerous” move
GB NEWS
He said: “I haven’t looked at the exact details of the new bill because it’s only just been released.
“I think this is something that has always been attractive to people in government, to many on the left, and to some on the right. One of the huge problems we had with building HS2, for example, was getting permission to buy every single piece of land.
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“And if you’re building a new nuclear reactor or trying to build a new airfield or even a new town, these are the kinds of big projects where you don’t want to be held to ransom by individuals who say, ‘Oh, give me £1 million to make me go away.’
“What I think is the danger is if this becomes a routine part of the local planning process.
“Councils shouldn’t just say, we think we’re going to need to expand the town in this direction, and we’re going to build here, and then claim, the landowner, don’t have any say in that.
“That’s actually quite dodgy, legally. We did used to have a system like this back in the 1950s, but it was abolished after just five years because it was really unworkable and very unpopular no one wanted to bring it forward.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has championed the bill, promising “the biggest building boom in a generation.”
She said the reforms would “unleash seismic reforms to help builders get shovels in the ground quicker.”
The government claims the changes will improve transport links and make Britain “a clean energy superpower.”
Currently, land bought under compulsory purchase orders is sold at “hope values” which can significantly drive up prices.
Earlier reforms allowed councils to apply for permission to use compulsory purchase orders without these hope values.
Farmers have been protesting the Inheritance tax rise in London
PA
The move will further anger farmers who are already protesting Labour’s inheritance tax changes.
The so-called ‘family death tax’ would force farmers to pay 20 per cent inheritance tax on agricultural land worth more than £1million.
Campaigners argue the tax, coming into effect next year, is ‘incentivising’ elderly farmers to commit suicide before April 2026 to avoid penalties.
This dual threat of compulsory purchase at reduced values and inheritance tax has created significant concern in farming communities.
