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quantity of private building land affected by urban
development and which must be acquired either for
compensation or through the exchange system is relatively
small. But because building land is itself valuable,
and provides homes and in many cases accommodation for
businesses and factories, the method of its acquisition
is very important to its owners.
5.3 Unlike agricultural land, building land is
valuable for its sake, quite irrespective of the
prospects for its reuse in an urban development scheme.
The value of building land together with the buildings
on it is dependent on location, the terms of the lease
and the condition and use of the building. These
elements are capable of valuation and are compensatable
under the Crown Lands Resumption Ordinance.
5.4. Under the present arrangements, the owner of
land affected by an urban resumption is offered either
compensation representing the value of the buildings and
land or a foot for foot exchange with a credit of part of
the value together with a payment of cash compensation
representing the remaining part. In neither case is
there any ex-gratia element as there is for agricultural
land, although a fairly comprehensive range of ex-gratia
payments are paid on clearance to the users of buildings
on building land in common with buildings on other forms
of land.
/5.5