A new road opens nearby. Nothing is built on the property; no land is taken… and yet its value can still fall.
Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973 exists for exactly that situation. It’s a compensation right most conveyancers rarely encounter, precisely because it doesn’t involve land being acquired at all – but for properties near new or altered infrastructure, it can matter a great deal.
Here’s what a Part 1 claim actually is, and why it’s a different animal from compulsory purchase.
What is a Part 1 claim?
Where the value of an interest in land is depreciated by physical factors caused by the use of public works, the person with that interest can claim compensation from the authority responsible for the works. This is known as a Part 1 claim, after the part of the 1973 Act that creates the right.
Crucially, no land needs to be taken from the claimant for a Part 1 claim to arise. It’s a form of injurious affection; value lost through the presence and operation of nearby infrastructure, not through anything physically removed from the property. The legislation provides a route to compensation in circumstances where an affected owner may otherwise have limited remedies for depreciation caused by the use of public works.
What counts as a “physical factor”?
The Act sets out a fixed, exhaustive list: noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, artificial lighting, and the discharge of any solid or liquid substance onto the land. Nothing outside that list qualifies, however genuinely a property’s value has been affected – general loss of view, disruption during construction, or a change in character to the area won’t support a claim on their own.
The factors also have to result from the use of the works, not their construction or their mere existence. A new road causing traffic noise can qualify; the fact of a road having been built at all doesn’t.
What counts as “public works”?
The Act covers three categories: any highway, any aerodrome, and any other works or land provided or used under statutory powers – which in practice extends to a wide range of infrastructure delivered by public bodies, from road schemes to certain utility and transport works. Although the statutory responsibility sits with the relevant authority, funding arrangements behind infrastructure schemes can be more complex.
When can a claim be made?
Timing is tightly defined by statute. The “relevant date” is the date a highway first opened to public traffic, or the date other public works were first used after completion. There is a statutory time limit for claims after the relevant date, after which the right may be lost.
There’s a practical logic to the delay before a claim can be brought at all: a claim reflects how a hypothetical buyer would value the property once the works are up and running and their effects can be properly assessed, not a prediction made before anyone knows how the finished scheme will behave. Compensation also isn’t available for factors caused by accidents involving vehicles or aircraft, and generally only one claim can be made per scheme, regardless of later changes in ownership.
How is this different from compulsory purchase compensation?
Compulsory purchase compensation is paid because land has been acquired. A Part 1 claim is paid because land value has fallen, even though nothing has been acquired at all – the two sit either side of a clear line. It’s entirely possible for one property on a scheme to be subject to a CPO, and its neighbour, unaffected by the CPO but sitting beside the finished road, to have a Part 1 claim instead.
Why does this matter for a transaction?
For most properties, this is background law that never becomes relevant. But for anything near a recently completed or altered road, aerodrome, or comparable public works scheme, it’s worth knowing whether a Part 1 claim has already been made and settled on the property – because that can affect whether a further claim is available, and it’s a piece of history a seller may not think to mention unprompted. A buyer relying on a mortgage valuation is unlikely to have this flagged for them; it’s the kind of thing that surfaces through local knowledge, targeted enquiries, or awareness of a nearby scheme’s timeline rather than a standard search return.
Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973 is a narrow, specific right, one fixed list of physical factors, one class of public works, and a limited window to claim. But where it applies, it’s often the only compensation route available to an owner whose land hasn’t been touched but whose value has been affected regardless.
For any property near a completed or upcoming infrastructure scheme, it’s worth asking the question rather than assuming a clean search means nothing to consider.
