Esso Petroleum Company Ltd v. Secretary of State for Transport [2008]. This decision of the Land Tribunal clarifies the meaning of section 261(1)(a) of the Highways Act 1980. The Land Tribunal held that the increase in value of the claimant’s retained land due to the overall scheme of development should be taken into account when calculating compensation. As such the decision will not be welcomed by landowners affected by compulsory purchase orders relating to, for example, road improvements.

 

The Tribunal also considered the date of entry. Previous case law established that the date that the acquiring authority enters and takes possession of the land fixes the date for the assessment of compensation. Assessing the date of entry is not always straightforward and this is particularly so where the landowner remains in occupation farming the land. On the facts of this case the authority had entered the land for the purpose of clearing hedges and other vegetation but the claimant landowner was able to continue trading. The Tribunal decided that these were not preliminary works but were carried out for the purpose of enabling the construction to proceed and were referable only to the exercise of the authority’s powers under the CPO. On the facts of this case the act taken by the acquiring authority amounted to entry and triggered the valuation date.

 

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