Compulsory Purchase: A Neglected Factor in the Agricultural Land Loss Debate

Compulsory Purchase: A Neglected Factor in the Agricultural Land Loss DebateAuthor(s): A. M. BlairSource: Area, Vol. 12, No. 3 (1980), pp. 183-189Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20001594 .

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Compulsory purchase: a neglected factor in the agricultural land loss debate A. M. Blair, Polytechnic of Central London

Summary. The use of compulsory purchase has been curiously neglected in the debate on rural to urban land conversion. Evidence from a farm survey in Essex indicates that compulsory purchase is highly concentrated in a few areas and significantly contributes to wards the farming community's hostility to land losses.

The extent and significance of transfers of land out of farming into other uses

is a topic which has attracted much recent academic debate (see for example:

Best, 1976, 1977; CAS, 1976; Coleman, 1976; Rogers, 1978). It is also a matter

of concern to government as shown by the number of recent reports that discuss

it (for example OECD, 1979; Advisory Council on Agriculture and Horticulture, 1978; AEDC, 1977; Countryside Review Committee, 1976). The farming press too shows a keen though often emotive concern. Yet the use of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) seems to have escaped much serious academic attention.

Compulsory purchase is a controversial issue since by definition the vendor is unwilling to sell. The key issues relating to CPOs are that they eliminate the

farmers' choice on when to sell, how much to sell, and to whom, rather than

simply being a question of a lower selling price. Irksome changes in farming

routine may arise from the unplanned sale of a plot of land. The strong sense of

grievance expressed by the agricultural community over land losses to urban development may well stem largely from experience of compulsory purchase rather than from opposition to all transfers of agricultural land.

Land is purchased compulsorily by local authorities and statutory under

takers for public works in cases where an individual owner refuses voluntary

sale under the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 and various other Acts, for

instance the Pipelines Act 1962 (Hamilton, 1974, p. 2). It is particularly common

in schemes such as motorway construction where large numbers of landowners are involved and lengthy individual negotiations would delay the development. Sometimes the purchase of a block of land disrupts farming activities to the

extent that business losses are entailed. For this reason compulsory purchase

may be accompanied by some form of compensation. Under the Land Com

pensation Act, 1973, compensation is supposed to put the owner in the same

position as if his land had not been taken from him. However, in the case of

agricultural land it is usually impossible to do this. Money payments may be

insufficient to replace land taken with an alternative that suits the farmer

equally. Turnover in the agricultural land market is very small (1-2% per

annum) making it unlikely that a suitable alternative supply will become

available in the local vicinity in the short term. The problem is exacerbated if a

number of farmers are affected by the same development. From an occupational point of view, dispossessed tenant farmers in particular

are in a highly precarious position because compensation usually amounts to the

183



184 Compulsory purchase: a neglected factor

equivalent of four times the annual rent (Hamilton, 1974, p. 22). This is in variably inadequate to purchase a farm and new tenancies are almost impossible to obtain (Parrish, 1973). In addition a sense of grievance is engendered by the length of time required to establish the degree of loss and to effect payment. A year or more is a typical delay. In an era of rapidly rising land prices a delay of twelve months or more considerably diminishes the value of compensation (Munton, 1976).

Despite these well known effects, the contributors to the debate on agri cultural land loss have not considered the use of compulsory purchase to any great extent. Some evidence on its use on farms in Essex between 1960 and 1973 is therefore considered in the rest of this paper. It was acquired as part of a

study of urban fringe farming in Essex in 1973 (Blair, 1978). A postal question naire survey was undertaken amongst members of the Essex branch of the National Farmers' Union and useable replies relating to 1,129 farm businesses in Essex were obtained. Tests on this large sample (approximately 43 % of the farm businesses and 44 % of the agricultural area) comparing it to the known characteristics of the whole farming population as enumerated by MAFF in the

June census, indicate that it is wholly representative.

Compulsory purchase and agricultural land losses in Essex

During the period 1960-1973, 2,740 hectares or 2-3 % of the sample farm area

was transferred out of agriculture. This is probably an understatement as those farms which have had a change of occupier during the study period may not

record all the land that passed to other uses. Also, most farms which dis

appeared entirely would escape enumeration unless the transfer took place at

+COLDNCHESTER B AIviN I eE E

* LACTON

FHARLO W

CoEOFFLF 0 Area excluded from survey --- S ~~~CHFI-NIS:OFRD (D

(t ) 0 * g Hectares conver-ted by C.O 164

C) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~130 .0 100

60 BASILDON 40~ci

0 +~~~~~~ LONDON (D IOvND

0 miles 20

0 km 20

Figure 1. Farmland converted to other uses by compulsory purchase orders in Essex, 1960-1973.



Compulsory purchase: a neglected factor 185

the time of the survey. However, it seems likely that the effects of these un recorded elements is small, since the annual average conversion rate of 0-16% corresponds closely to the analysis of MAFF statistics by Best and Champion (1970).1

Although the proportion of the total agricultural area affected is very small, experience of land transfer is relatively common. Twenty-seven per cent of farmers experienced at least one land conversion, but few had experienced sub stantial losses. Half of the farms concerned lost less than two hectares and only a quarter lost more than eight hectares. Over 25 % of the cases and 35 % of the area converted to other uses were accomplished through use of a CPO. Since these figures indicate that recent conversion of farmland in Essex has been at a relatively modest rate overall and CPO cases form only a minority of all conversions, why do CPOs cause so much concern?

It is suggested that a contributory factor is the spatial concentration of cases in some localities giving the impression of a severe problem (Figure 1). The largest areas of CPO-acquired land are in and around Harlow, attributable to the expansion of the new town and to the construction of the M 11 motorway.

Virtually all the parcels of over ten hectares are on the fringes of the bigger towns. Parcels of less than ten hectares are scattered throughout rural Essex and are mostly attributable to minor road works and small scale public utilities.

The pattern of compulsorily purchased land is much more restricted than that for all land conversions (Figure 2). Large land conversions are mostly on the edge of the bigger towns. In Colchester for example most of the largest transfers took place without the use of CPOs. However the absence of a CPO

. .

(D 0

-](25 ,0D; * 3 ff@ Area excluded f rom survey --

0.>2 @ * 0 0 Total io' hectares converted 164

(D ~~~~~~~~~~~~100 13

(D ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~75

isniles 20

0 km 20

Figure 2. Compulsory and non-compulsory purchases of farmland in Essex, 1960-1973.



186 Compulsory purchase: a neglected factor

does not necessarily indicate great willingness to sell. As some respondents pointed out, they had decided to sell voluntarily since CPOs would have been served if they had not complied with the request.

Compulsory purchased land tends to be in larger blocks than land sold voluntarily, the average size of a parcel purchased in this way being 7-8 hectares, compared with 49 hectares for non-CPO land. The large average size of individual CPO purchases has meant that they have attracted a disproportionate amount of attention, despite the fact that overall they account for a minority of transfers both in terms of number and area (Table 1).

The major uses to which farmland was converted were housing and roads which together were responsible for over 800% of the new area purchased compulsorily (Table 2). While most of the new road area was acquired through the use of CPOs, most of the new housing land was sold voluntarily. Perhaps surprisingly very little public utility land (e.g. electricity sub-stations) was acquired compulsorily. Other new land uses were relatively insignificant, both in total area and in their contribution to CPO totals.

Farming and compulsory purchase Since the objective of CPOs is to secure land for non-agricultural development,

the kind of farming that goes on there is irrelevant to the purchaser. There is no

a priori reason why any particular type of farm enterprise or form of tenure

should be subjected disproportionately to CPO. It came as no surprise therefore to find that in Essex there was no bias towards any particular type of farm.

Table 1. Size of land parcels converted to non-agricultural uses, Essex 1960-73

Total cases CPO cases Size of parcel (ha) % n % n

<2-0 53 158 33-5 53 21-4-0 12-4 39 48 0 19 41-80 14-3 45 400 18 8-1-16 0 9 2 29 37-9 11 >160 13-3 42 45 2 19

Table 2. New uses of converted farmland in Essex 1960-73

All purchases in CPO purchases New use as new use as a % of as a % of new a % of total

New use total area converted use area CPO area

Residential 28 5 26 21 5 Manufacturing 21 32-6 2 0 Extractive 13 0 0 0 Roads 27 1 79 9 62 7 Public Utility 15 7 18 5 8 5

Woodland 1 2 6 2 0 02 Water 21 1 3 0 04 Recreation 10-3 16 5 4 9




Arable farms were just as likely to be served with CPOs as dairy farms, owner occupiers were equally as subject to CPOs as tenants.

The only significant difference between farms lay in the features most related to CPO: the amount of land purchased and the size of the farm (Table 3). Since larger farms (over 40 ha) make up the majority of the sample it would be reasonable to expect them to account for most cases of CPO. However, larger farms accounted for a disproportionately high number of CPO cases (and indeed of land conversion cases in general). Moreover, a much higher incidence of large land transfers was found within each of the larger farm-size groups. For example on the largest farms (> 121 ha) 460% of CPO cases involved more than eight hectares. No other size group had more than 200% of its cases ex ceeding eight hectares. Non-CPO transactions showed far less difference between size groups, although the largest farms still tended to have the highest proportion of big conversions. This bias towards larger farms is explained by the fact that they obviously occupy a bigger area than small farms and in a situation where urban development requirements are spatially random (as far as the pattern of farming is concerned) there is clearly a higher probability of those farms being affected. Despite being proportionately less subject to CPOs, small farms are likely to experience more profound impacts when they are served a CPO, since even quite small parcels of land may form a significant proportion of the holding.

Attitudes towards urban development and particularly the farmer's veiw of his own vulnerability to land loss will be influenced by his experience of land conversion. Farmers were asked if they considered that they were sufficiently protected against the hazards of urban development. Table 4 shows how farmers' views varied according to their own land conversion experience. There

were substantial differences between those who lost land and those who did not. Almost twice as many of those farmers who had lost land felt that protection was not sufficient. Feelings were strongest amongst those who had been subject to a CPO. Three-quarters of them regarded present protection as insufficient.

Table 3. Land conversions and farm size groups

Farm size groups (ha) <8 8-1-20 20-1-40 40-1-121 >121

% n % n % n % n % n

Size group as a % of all farms 18 (202) 8 (87) 12 (138) 30 (343) 32 (362)

Land conversion within size group 12 (25) 17 (15) 18 (26) 26 (91) 42 (153)

Land conversion between size groups 8 (25) 5 (15) 8 (26) 29 (91) 49 (153)

CPO cases within size group 36 (9) 20 (3) 50 (13) 45 (42) 39 (53)

CPO cases between

size groups 9 (9) 2 (3) 11 (13) 34 (42) 43 (53) CPO cases over 8 ha

within size group 11 (1) 0 (0) 15 (2) 20 (8) 46 (1 9) Non-CPO cases over

8 ha within size group 19 (3) 17 (2) 8 (1) 19 (9) 26 (26)

Size groups bas9d on matric equivalent of MAFF acreage size groups in use in 1973.



188 Compulsory purchase: a neglectedfactor

Table 4. Farmers' attitudes to legal protection from urban development according to land conversion experience

Land conversion experience Farmers' attitudes CPO cases non-CPO cases No land loss All farmers to legal protection % n % n % n % n

Not protected enough (all sizes) 75 (93) 68 (108) 37 (424) 55 (625) Not protected enough. >8 ha loss 83 (30) 67 (23) - - - Not protected enough. <8 ha loss 71 (63) 68 (85) - _

Most dissatisfied were the farmers who had lost more than eight hectares through CPOs (83%). Size of loss however made little difference to farmers

who had sold voluntarily. Compulsory purchase clearly tended to produce higher levels of dissatisfaction.

Conclusion Compulsory purchase is unpopular with farmers. The evidence from Essex suggests that while overall CPOs affect only a relatively minor proportion of farmland, it may assume greater significance in the minds of farmers partly by virtue of its concentration in certain urban fringe areas. The only farm charac teristics which are of significance seem to be size of farm and size of parcel transferred. Since the economic and social impacts of land losses on an individual farm will depend largely on the price that the farmer gets for the land and the degree to which the land loss will require him to re-think his own enterprise mix and perhaps even consider moving to another farm, further research is needed to establish if there are significant differences in these respects between farmers

who experience CPO and those who do not. Until this is done it will be difficult to say if the farming community's hostility to CPOs is justified or not. Never theless it is an aspect of the agricultural land loss debate which deserves more attention than it has received hitherto.

Acknowledgement I would like to thank Dr R. J. Muntoa, UCL, for his helpful comments on earlier drafts of

this paper.

Note 1. Best and Champion's figures (1970) refer solely to conversion of farmland to urban uses.

The present study records losses to all other uses. However, the conversion to non-urban non-agricultural uses is so small (3 3 %) in relation to all conversions that for all practical purposes the two studies are comparable

References Advisory Council for Agriculture and Horticulture in England and Wales (1978) Agriculture

and the countryside (the Strutt Report), MAFF Agriculture Economic Development Committee (1977) Agriculture into the 1980s; land use

NEDO (London) Best, R. H. (1977) ' The extent and growth of urban land ', The Planner 63, 8-11

Best, R. H. and Champion, A. G. (1970) 'Regional conversions of agricultural land to urban use in England and Wales, 1945-67, Trans. Inst. Br. Geogr. 49, 15-32




Blair, A. M. (1978) 'Spatial effects of urban influence on agriculture in Essex 1960-73', unpubl. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of London

Centre for Agricultural Strategy (1976) Landfor agriculture (Reading) Coleman, A. (1976) 'Is planning really necessary?' Geogr. J. 142, 411-37 Countryside Review Committee (1976) The countryside: problems and policies HMSO Hamilton, R. N. D. (1974) 2nd ed, Compensation for the compulsory acquisition of agricultural

land, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors OECD (1979) Agriculture in the planning and management of peri-urban areas 2 Vols. (Paris) Munton, R. J. C. (1976) ' An analysis of price trends in the agricultural land market of England

and Wales', Tijdschr. econ. soc. Geogr. 67(4), 202-12 Parrish, M. R. (1973) Land Compensation Act 1973 Country Landowners Association Circular

Y.2893 Rogers, A. W. (1978) (ed) Urban growth, farmland losses and planning Rural Geography Study

Group, IBG

Developments in modelling geographical systems

Report on a meeting of the IBG Quantitative Methods Study Group at the London School of Economics, 12 April 1980.

A small band of about 20 assembled to hear of different modelling studies being carried out in both physical and human geography. M. Kirkby (Leeds), opening the morning session, presented his latest ideas on soil modelling from the viewpoint of a geomor phologist under the heading Modelling in geomorphology. Using the now familiar sediment and soil continuity equations as a basis, he explored the consequences of a second-order partial differential equation for soil profile leaching and diffusion. With the aid of some plausible approximations, the model produces results on the sharpness of the weathering front, the rate of approach to soil equilibrium, and the effects of lithological variation. The range of results possible provides an illustration of the potential of simple models. Discussion centred on the functional representation of soil permeability. E. Culling (LSE) then considered Rate process theory applied to the transport of rock debris on slope surfaces. The theory, drawn from physical chemistry, allows the modelling of the movement of particles over barriers. A probabilistic treatment seems appropriate for geomorphological cases in which particle displace

ments and barrier heights are regarded as random variables. Culling presented a variety of analytic results, but met several little-known mathematical beasts, including confluent hypergeometric functions, in the course of his derivations. H. Scoging (LSE) outlined An erosion component model for semi-arid Spain, which predicts the runoff and erosion response to a stochastically generated rainfall input. A Green and Ampt equation was found to be more successful than a Philip equation in modelling infiltra tion. Surface flow was assumed to be turbulent and the important Manning roughness parameter was estimated by three independent methods. Erosion was modelled as a function of the detachment and transport capacities of rainfall and surface flow.

A. Wilson (Leeds) opened the afternoon session with a paper on Instability and oscillation in dynamic models of shopping centres and similar systems. Simple difference equation models are now realized to have remarkably complex dynamic behaviour, having for differing parameter values solutions which are stable points, a bifurcating



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Compulsory Purchase: A Neglected Factor in the Agricultural Land Loss Debate