The Planning Inspectorate- Wales

Purchase Notices Served under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Purpose of purchase notices

Planning control is intended to regulate the development of land in the public interest. For this reason, planning decisions may conflict with the private interests of land owners. There is no entitlement to compensation for adverse planning decisions (except in limited circumstances where "permitted development" rights under a Development Order are withdrawn by direction or planning permission is revoked etc). This is because owners usually have some continuing benefit from current uses. But occasionally there may be no reasonably beneficial use for the land-so to remedy this situation, an owner has the right, in certain circumstances, to serve a "purchase notice" requiring a local authority to purchase his interest in the land.