ABSTRACT
The assumption that, because it is land that is expropriated, and as every piece of land has a price in the marketplace, the expropriated owner should be adequately compensated with that price is too easily made. Parliament has now provided that compensation may be paid in money or money's worth, thus opening up the possibility of land exchange as another means of compensating owners. The presumption of interpretation of statutes that Parliament intend to authorise the taking of private property without compensation except where it clearly so expressly directs. When Parliament was considering what is now the Channel Tunnel Act 1987, there was evidence of considerable disquiet about the level of compensation for the ‘commercial’ aspects of the project. The Lands Clauses Act 1845 was passed to provide standard provisions with regard to acquisition procedures and the assessment of compensation.
