The dust has finally settled since the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 received royal assent and a large proportion of the provisions came into force on 18 February 2026.

The compulsory purchase landscape in England has undergone its most significant overhaul in recent years. It is important to get up to speed with the changes this introduced, especially in respect of the day-to-day practices you may be used to. 

In this article series, we provide a practical review of the recent compulsory purchase reforms, examining their implications for acquiring authorities and those advising them. This first article focuses on three provisions that we consider to be of particular immediate relevance. Part 2 will follow with commentary on the remaining reforms introduced by the Act.

Part 5 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 made a series of amendments which those working in the compulsory purchase landscape should be mindful of. This short article focuses on three specific provisions that acquiring authorities should be actively considering when progressing a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO). Each represents a meaningful and practical change that has the potential to reduce delay, cost and procedural risk in the CPO process.

Section 105 (S105): Electronic Service of Notices 

S105 has introduced the ability for acquiring authorities to serve documents under the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 and Land Compensation Acts 1961 and 1973 by way of email where agreed between the parties.

This is a notable step into modern day practice and also mirrors similar service options available in court cases. 

The practical significance of this reform should not be underestimated. CPO proceedings frequently involve large numbers of individual notices being served on landowners, tenants, mortgagees and other parties with an interest in the land to be acquired. The logistical burden of managing physical service (tracking delivery, managing return receipts, dealing with failed service attempts, etc), not to mention the sheer physical size of the document packs being delivered, places considerable administrative strain on acquiring authorities and their advisers.

In order to benefit from this recent change, we would recommend that acquiring authorities:

• Establish processes for obtaining and documenting consent from interested parties at an early stage in the CPO process.
• Ensure that internal systems and databases are capable of recording consents accurately, including the email addresses through which service is to be effected.
• Consider how to handle situations where consent is not forthcoming, as traditional service methods will need to remain available as a fallback. 

Section 107 (S107): Confirmation (with modifications) by the Acquiring Authority

Historically, acquiring authorities have been required to submit a CPO to a confirming authority (typically the Secretary of State or an Inspector appointed on their behalf) for confirmation. The confirming authority could then confirm the order as made, confirm it with modifications, or decline to confirm it. This meant that even straightforward orders with no outstanding objections required external sign-off before they could become operative.

S107 extends the existing powers in S14A of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 for acquiring authorities to confirm their own CPOs in certain circumstances (for example, where no objections are made and the confirming authority agrees to self-confirmation), giving acquiring authorities powers to also confirm their own CPOs in those circumstances with modifications. This is on the basis that the modification either: 

1. Removes an interest in the land in its entirety; or 
2. Does not affect interests in land.

If it does affect a person’s interest in land, this person must give their prior consent to the modification(s) proposed to be made.

A key benefit that is envisaged from this provision is to help reduce the impact of delays of confirmation from the confirming authority, substantially reducing the overall timescale from order submission to the order becoming operative where there are no objections and only minor modifications to a CPO are required.

However, acquiring authorities must be alive to the fact that the self-confirmation power does not extend to all CPOs. There are a number of exclusions including: common land, open space, allotments and statutory undertakers interests. Orders including such interests will need to follow the conventional route.

Acquiring authorities will need to develop clear internal governance frameworks for exercising the self-confirmation power, ensuring that the conditions for its use are properly documented and that appropriate legal advice is obtained before proceeding.

Section 109 (S109): Advancement of Vesting by Agreement

Following the confirmation of a CPO, an acquiring authority can issue a General Vesting Declaration (GVD) as a mechanism to transfer title and obtain vacant possession. Under the previous GVD procedure, once a GVD was executed, there was a mandatory three month period before the land could vest in the acquiring authority. The rationale for this was to give affected parties (particularly occupiers) reasonable notice before they were required to vacate.

S109 brings flexibility to this minimum three month period, allowing acquiring authorities to agree a date an interest will vest with the affected parties, which may be earlier than the vesting date. However, if it is not possible to agree a reduced period, the minimum three month period will remain.

Again, this is another mechanism to remove unnecessary delay. In practice, there are many situations where the landowner/occupier is content (or actively wishes) for vesting to occur sooner. The previous statutory framework provided no mechanism for early vesting, even where all parties were in agreement, resulting in unnecessary delay to schemes.

This may be particularly valuable in circumstances such as:

• Where a business occupier needs to relocate and wishes to do so on a timescale of their own choosing, including before the statutory three-month period would otherwise expire;
• Where a residential property has been vacated and the owner would like to complete the transaction earlier than the minimum period requires; 
• Where the scheme is time-sensitive and any reduction in the vesting period would have a material positive impact on programme delivery.

To capitalise on this change, we would suggest acquiring authorities ensure, where possible, communications with affected parties remain open and constructive, to enable changed to the GVD vesting date to be agreed where relevant.  Any agreement to reduce the GVD vesting period should be well documented in order to reflect any agreed variations to the statutory vesting date.

A word of caution – acquiring authorities should take advice on whether agreeing an earlier vesting date has any implications for the assessment of compensation in a particular case, particularly where the valuation date is linked to the vesting date.

The above is a brief overview of three of the reforms introduced by the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. In Part 2 of this series, we will examine the remaining CPO reforms in further detail. In the meantime, there are a number of practical steps that acquiring authorities can be taking now.

Key takeaways for acquiring authorities currently progressing CPOs

• Review their service of notices procedures and consider how consent for electronic service can be obtained and documented as part of early stakeholder engagement;
• Assess the scope for self-confirmation in connection with any order currently pending confirmation or likely to require modification, taking specialist legal advice on whether the conditions under section 107 are met;
• Consider whether earlier vesting is achievable on a scheme-by-scheme basis, and build section 109 discussions into their engagement strategy with affected owners and occupiers; and
• Monitor further guidance and secondary legislation from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as the new framework continues to bed in.

Browne Jacobson works closely with a number of acquiring authorities in respect of making and progressing CPOs through to confirmation. If you would like to get in touch to discuss the recent CPO reforms or how to best utilise CPO powers in your area, please do contact either Laura Morland or Sophie Hoffman in our planning team to discuss further.