Compulsary Purchase Order

[Centre Punch]

Hi Guys,
I no that this has got nothing to do with shooting but alot to do with your rights.
Does your government operate Compulsary Purchase Orders?
By this i mean that if the Authorities want construct a new developrment and your home(which you own) is in the middle of this proposed developement, do they have the right to kick you out of your home with what can only described financial compensation?

An 84 year old man who has lived in his house for 70 years has been told by to local government officers to sell his house to developers or face a compulsary purchase order.
He said he will not go but when the CPO is enforced he will be removed by force if needed.

I am just curious to know what would happen in the USA under these circumstances.

Ian.

"I meant to shoot the pike but the duck got in the way"

 

[Buffalobob]

In the USA it is called "imminent domain" At first it was used to forcibly take land for gov't projects such as roads, reservoirs, etc. It is now being used to take private land that will be sold or given to another private developer.

The "taking" of a person's residential home so that it can be torn down and a shoping mall built is extremely controversial but is occurring.

The person is compensated based upon an assessemetn of the current fair market value (I think) not any future value.

 

[abinok]

I have family currently going through these issues. The city of Oklahoma City has decided their home (of more than 20 years) would better serve the public as a park.
For more information on current law, and how your government is abusing it have a look here: http://www.castlecoalition.org/

Personally, there is a scene in the movie American Outlaws that pretty well articulates my feelings on the matter.
If you haven't seen the movie, heres a brief recap of the scene.
The railroad men show up at a farm house, and inform the older female landowner that its time to sell or else... as her armed sons stand on the porch around her. After she realizes how serious the situation is, she says "let me ask the lord" then lowers her head in prayer. After a few uh huhs, she raises her head, smiles and says " he says we can bury them out in the orchard, nobody will ever find them"

If the law doesn't change before too long, I believe there are going to be a lot of people willing to "go to war with the railroad"

 

[CrossHare]

As BB so stated, the term is called "Imminant Domain" and it's something you'll be seeing a lot more of. Here's a hint, keep your eyes peeled toward "Naahlans: aka New Orleans. This will be the a field day for the rich! The sad thing is the dems are as crooked as the repubs so who's to stop them now? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif In the end when the people wise up, (if ever) you'll see it was always about the rich and poor not political affiliations.

 

[Boman]

Crosshare is right.. I have already heard of "venture capitalists" making plans to buy up blocks of property for nothing and when the govt rebuild the levy's and dikes and makes the area more safe they will come in and build what they want..

 

[boomer]

My friend had a business in the same spot for 24 years the propriety was his free and clear. four years ago they sent him his propriety tax bill and it was $235 less then the year before he thought that was great then the third year it went down another $104 then the next year $217 less this year they told him they were taking his land and paying him $69,000 for the propriety, he had it appraised and it was appraised at $98,000 for just the propriety the building was appraised at $195,000, They based their price on the propriety tax amount and since he had not contested the amount they said he had excepted their value.

When we loose the right to our private propriety we are no longer citizens but subjects and no longer owners of private propriety but renters.

 

[Chrismadrid]

Happens in Spain too. Some friends had their farm split in two by Madrids newish ring road (M45). They eventually negociated a fairish price and that the constructors HAD to build in connecting tunnels.

There is also a pretty INFAMOUS set of laws active in the Valencia region that gained coverage as it hit the British Ambassadors private residence - this allowed PRIVATE developers to more or less do the same - there are of coure suspicions of bribes etc!.

 

[Centre Punch]

Boomer,
You hit the nail right on the head, we here in the UK have never been citizens and are subjects to the Crown, thus we have never had a written constitution.
This allows the government to do whatever it wants, with the backing of the police and armed forces who swear alligience to the Queen. I'm afraid to say though, that EU alternative is even more frightening.

This property grab by the authorities has been going on for many many years here resulting in the suicide of a local farmer. This man was served a compulsary purchase order in the mid 1970s under the town councils future developement project but told that it would not come to force untill the earley 2000s, which he excepted.
In 2003 the farmer was evicted from his land and paid £75000, the value of his farm in 1975!
The council then proceeded to sell his land for £ 2.1 million to developers.

The farmer, now without a home and not enough money to buy a 1 room apartment could not take it and ended his life with a shot gun.
The local press said that his suicide was down to depression, i'm not surprised!
It was only after the farmers sons came forward with the true storey that it came to light. The council were of course conspicuously absent with any comment.
This site now has industrial units and warehousing standing empty waiting for someone to rent them, the council has an extra 2.1 million in the bank and they are still putting up our taxes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

I always thought your constitution allowed you to protect your home and property even against an overzealous government, from what i have read it seems i am wrong.
The quirky term "An Englishmans home is his castle" is a joke, unless you happen to work for the council.

Ian

"I meant to shoot the pike but the duck got in the way"

 

[Brown Dog]

Ian,

[ QUOTE ]
we here in the UK have never been citizens and are subjects to the Crown

[/ QUOTE ]
Look in your passport. You are a British Citizen.

[ QUOTE ]
thus we have never had a written constitution.


[/ QUOTE ]
Well, as a Nation we're a bit too long in the tooth for a single document-and I'm paraphrasing a bunch of stuff here- we started with the Magna Carta in 1215; that has gone through many amendments, most notably in 1297; Many later attempts by other nations to draft constitutional forms of government, including the United States Constitution, trace their lineage back to this source document. The influence of Magna Carta can be clearly seen in the U.S. Bill of Rights, which enumerates various rights of the people and restrictions on government power, such as:
No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

A constitution is a set of laws on how a country is governed. The British Constitution is unwritten, unlike the constitution in America or the proposed European Constitution, and as such, is referred to as an uncodified constitution in the sense that there is no single document that can be classed as Britain's constitution. The British Constitution can be found in a variety of documents.The main ones are:

· Statutes such as the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Act of Settlement of 1701.
· Laws and Customs of Parliament; political conventions
· Case law; constitutional matters decided in a court of law

There are two basic principles to the British Constitution:

· The Rule of Law
· The Supremacy of Parliament

[ QUOTE ]
This allows the government to do whatever it wants, with the backing of the police and armed forces

[/ QUOTE ]

tell me you're not serious.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Centre Punch]

Hey Matt
I hope you have another Friday afternoon free cos boy could we sink some beer's and have one hell of a debate, we could bring Pete Lincoln in on it as well and my mate Jonse'y for a real anti government view and his wife's a copper! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I have always felt more of a subject then a citizen and what is written in our passports, to me is a term, rather then a fact.
Thanks for the History reminder but in my opinion these past statutes, charters and documents are'nt worth the "Parchment" they are written on and as far as i am concerned an unwritten constitution is NO constitution at all. [ QUOTE ]
No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.

[/ QUOTE ]
All of the above have been contravened at one time or another, so even if we did have one it would have ignored by a government that does what it wants, especially the government of Mr Blair. If there is something this government does not like which is not covered by a specific law, they will invent one to cover it and tack it on to the end of some otherwise seemingly harmless bill.
This why i say that without a written constitution there are no boundaries with which the government must comply as they govern the country.

The police and the armed forces are bound by their oath to the crown to comply with whatever Her Majesties Government tells them to do, so my statement of the full support of the armed forces and the police was given in the wrong context.

Anyway this started out as a thread about the injustices of CPO and has turned into an insight into British constitutional issues, judging by your writings you know more about then i do but these are just my interpretations of what is going on in this country,
Hopefully in the future there will be an aspect of british Law and politics on which we can agree, but thanks for the input, after all that is what makes good debate. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ian

"I meant to shoot the pike but the duck got in the way"

 

[Geoff Seymour]

It sounds to me like your farmer has received very poor or even no legal advice. Had it been me I would have gone yelling to the press and anyone else that would publise the case. Building land for houses without planning is worth about 200K per acre, industrial is less.

 

[Brown Dog]

Ian,
Apologies for the delay in replying; I've been up in Yorkshire -shooting near Harrogate; excellent fun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[ QUOTE ]
boy could we sink some beer's and have one hell of a debate

[/ QUOTE ] I think you're right! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
Hopefully in the future there will be an aspect of british Law and politics on which we can agree

[/ QUOTE ]
...well you may be surprised that,despite our slightly different 'read' on recent events, I wholeheartedly agree that Blair is the most dangerous, self-serving and questionably motivated PM we've ever had!

PS Here's another thing I reckon we'll agree on: you'll realise I'm not a big 'civil liberties' person (!); but I was horrified to hear that that 82 year-old ejected from the labour conference was prevented from re-entering because the police detained him under anti-terrorist legislation /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif ...something not right there!

All the best!
Matt

PPS Did you get the 'my family' aussie cricket joke I sent from my work email a couple of weeks back?

 

[Centre Punch]

Yeah Matt,
Got the joke, forgot that the back of my computer chair was broken and nearly ended up on the floor /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Tony's on screen apology for this crass act was equally contemptable, i think you will agree and was even more appalling for the emphasis on the "good job" that the marshalls were doing, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Ian

"I meant to shoot the pike but the duck got in the way"

 

[ol mike]

If I ever felt so lowly over my land/home being stolen it would not be me I would kill!!Mike /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif