ABSTRACT
The notice must describe the land to which it relates, demand particulars of the interest in the land and the claim of the recipient, and state that the acquiring authority is willing to treat for the purchase of the land, and as to the compensation for any other damage that may be sustained as a consequence of the execution of the works: section 5, Compulsory Purchase Act 1965. There is no prescribed form of notice to treat and a letter that clearly contains the matters just outlined can be regarded as a notice to treat: see Hull & Humber Investment Co v Hull Corporation [1965] (letter from the district valuer of the Inland Revenue was accepted without any dispute). The notice must give particulars of the land to which it relates: see Lewis v Hackney London Borough Council [1990]. In Bostock, Chater & Sons Ltd v Chelmsford Corp [1973] the Lands Tribunal held that a letter from a minister that he had decided to confirm a compulsory purchase order was not a notice to treat. A notice to treat must be served on an owner personally, or where he cannot be traced, affixed to the land: section 30. A notice cannot be validly served on an agent: Fagan v Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council [1985].
