asked the Minister for Local Government if a county council which is having difficulty in acquiring building sites may proceed to purchase by private treaty or by an auction large estates or farms with a view to the disposal of the surplus land which is not required for housing or amenities; and if a county council may put a reserve selling price on the surplus lands calculated to enable the council to secure, on completion of the transaction, the required building sites at no cost to public funds.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Purchase of Building Sites.
42.
Local authorities are empowered to acquire, by agreement or compulsorily, land which they require for the purposes of their powers or duties. They may also acquire by agreement land which in their opinion they will require in the future for those purposes. I would not think, however, that a local authority would be entitled to acquire land surplus to their requirements with the specific intention of disposing of part of it at a profit which could be applied to reduce the cost to the authority of providing building sites or other works or services. Where a local authority wish to dispose of land which they hold and which they consider is no longer required for the purposes of their powers and duties, they may do so for the best price obtainable. They can if they wish put a reserve price on the land.