Mr. Philip Jones:

The core of this is not only the Wide Streets Commission but, as we know, Baron Haussmann changed the face of Paris by doing something similar. The key here is not just that we will have a publicly accessible land register with values but we will have the power, as a local authority, to CPO land. Section 171AQ allows a local authority to CPO land and take into account, when paying for that, the land value sharing contribution. In effect, within a UDZ it is being suggested that the local authority should be able to CPO land, and when the vesting order is done, the compensation in effect is much less than full market value because it takes out that land value contribution. Our view is that should apply to all zoned land. Most progressive countries in Europe assemble land by the State and hand it over, not to speculators and in many cases not to developers but to builders. If this legislation is passed, with section 171AQ being extended to all zoned land rather than solely within UDZs, that in itself will have a salutary impact on landowners because they themselves will want to develop rather than lose control over their land which the local authority would have to do.

The irony is, as Mr. O’Leary said, I went to planning school back in the 1970s when the Kenny report was there, but at that time everybody felt it was not going to happen because it was unconstitutional. The change was in 2000 when the Supreme Court Article 26 decided that Part V, which everybody, including, unfortunately, some lawyers we ourselves as an institute had at the time, said was unconstitutional and could not be done, was perfectly okay in the interest of the common good. Subsequently, there was a court case where one High Court judge, who is now a member of the Supreme Court, said there is no right to develop land, only to own it, under the Constitution. Therefore, I believe the whole view back in the 1970s that it was unconstitutional is now gone. There may be some lawyers, perhaps those who were trained at around the time I was trained as a planner, might still be wedded to the old idea. However, it is the opportunity of the CPO and the threat of a CPO by a local authority to do that. I see nothing wrong with a local authority buying land at this reduced value, getting it serviced and then selling it on to a group of builders to build at a time of its choosing rather than at the time of the market’s choosing.