Valuation for Compensation in Respect of Road Widening Schemes and other Public Works

In this paper land is described as meaning anything over, on, in, or under land. It will be agreed therefore that whatever engineering schemes are formulated, that ultimately they will find their suspension, foundation, fixation and position over, on, in, or under land. An engineering scheme cannot be carried out, therefore, unless the undertakers of the scheme have either obtained a special Act of Parliament duly authorising them to do so, or by advantage of the provisions of existing Acts of Parliament, or by agreement with the land owners and other interests where no Act or Acts of Parliament can be taken advantage of. We therefore come to the point that the value of the land and other interests, the damage and disturbance and injurious affection and severance caused by the proposed or actual, and in some cases ultimate, operations of the engineering scheme is to be paid for by those responsible for the scheme. It now becomes necessary to sub-divide the class of engineering schemes into appropriate divisions in relation to the nature of the Acts of Parliament that provide the necessary powers to enable the scheme to be operated.

H.W.J. Powell