ABSTRACT
The point applies in respect of restrictive covenants that affect land purchased by agreement; the authority may breach the covenants but must pay compensation: section 120 of the Local Government Act 1972 and section 14 of the Local Government Act 1976. Where a housing authority acquires land under the clearance area provisions of the Housing Act 1985, on completion of the purchase of such land, all private rights and easements are extinguished: Housing Act 1985, section 295. The electricity, gas and water authorities all have enabling Acts that authorise the compulsory acquisition of easements for their installations. Until its repeal and substitution by section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, section 237 of the 1990 Act contained a power to override easements and other rights where land had been acquired or appropriated by a local authority for planning purposes.
