Landowners should be stripped of the right to receive the ‘hope value’ of land, allowing councils to buy sites at closer to current use value, according to think tank Civitas.
In a report, it said that reform of the Land Compensation Act 1961 could bring forward more land for housing.
The report said: “The incentive for the landowner in such a scenario would be to settle more quickly.
“This would provide the ultimate sanction against the withholding of land from uses to which local authorities wish it to be put, and instead ensure that it is brought forward at prices compatible with planning objectives – including the provision of substantial numbers of sub-market homes and the infrastructure that local people rightly expect.”
