Appropriation

What is it?       

Where a Council holds land for one purpose and wishes to use it for a different purpose, it must ‘appropriate’ the land.

How does it work?

The general rules for this are contained in s.122 Local Government Act 1972 for district and county councils, and in s.126 for parish and community councils. (There is always the possiblity that another enactment may provide specific powers too.)

Constraints

For some appropriations, it is necessary for the council to advertise its proposals and to take any objections or representations into account before it makes a final decision.

Other Information

Controversially, where land is held by the council under a trust to retain the land for the public (for example as an open space), the act of appropriating it removes the restriction.