Motorway Land Payments

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31976, 1 May 1969, Page 16

Motorway Land Payments

Guiding principles had ’already been announced for payment to householders likely to be affected by the proposed motorway in the Christchurch Master Transport Plan, the member of Parliament for St Albans (Mr H. J. Walker) said last evening.

Those residents in St Albans who were likely to be affected had been informed by him of all the implications and their rights in personally addressed letters, he said. Mr Walker was commenting on . a report of a public meeting called by the St Albans branch of the Labour Party on Tuesday evening to dispute the motorway. The basis of compensation, as announced by the Minister of Works (Mr Allen), would be the market value of each property at the time of Its purchase, Mr Walker said. This valuation would be made on the basis that the house was in a district not affected by.;a motorway. There would be certain

other, unavoidable, out-of-pocket expenses to which a landowner would be entitled if he was obliged to sell land entirely at the Crown’s request for a public work, Mr Walker said. “These include sueh essential legal expenses in purchasing another similar property, reasonable removal expenses, and so on,” he said. Each landowner’s claim

- would be treated on its own i merits and the services of the I Ministry of Works land pur--1 chase officers were available - to discuss With each affected r landowner his own special problems ■ and to explain his . rights to compensation under the Public Works Act, Mr . Walker said. :■ "I feel hound to say, as far as the St Albans area is cona cerned, that the regional

planners and the National Roads Board have acted fairly and responsibly and done everything possible to ensure that a major disturbance is not caused in property values,” he said. "To date many persons on the motorway, who have sold their properties, have contacted me and commented very favourably on prices they have received,” he' said.