Case note Law - Essay Example

The Council took charge of the Common in 1974 and soon after there was talk of a ban on hunting being imposed on the Common. On 4th August 1993 the Council at a full Local Authority meeting passed a resolution banning stag hunting on the Common. The applicant was contending that the Council when passing the resolution had taken account of considerations which were irrelevant and disregarded considerations that were relevant. The irrelevant considerations were that the Council had based its decision on purely moral grounds, while disregarding the relevant considerations relating to the statutory purposes for which local authorities were empowered to acquire and manage land.

The relevant statute was s.120(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, which provides that a local authority could acquire land “For the purposes of … the benefit, improvement or development of their area… whether situated inside or outside their area.” 8. What was the justification for the acquisition in the case of Costello v Dacorum District Council (1982)81LGR1 and compare this case with “ex parte Fewings”. Are the powers and authority of the council as owners of the land the same as that of a private landlord?

17 In Costello the land in question had been used by gypsies and other caravan dwellers and had been a nuisance to the people in the area. The authority had been under substantial pressure from ratepayers to do something about the problem. So when the authority has decided to take a lease of the land and evict the gypsies and other caravan dwellers, the court said that the authority was acting within s.120(1)(b), as evicting the undesirable persons living thereon and returning the land to its proper use as common land was clearly for the benefit and improvement of the area.

In Costello the authority had acquired the land in order to abate the nuisance caused by gypsies etc. living thereon. In