Rittson-Thomas v Oxfordshire County Council

The Supreme Court heard an appeal from the Court of Appeal regarding the sale of a school site under the School Sites Act 1841. The respondents, the heirs of the original landowner, argued that the sale of the site after the school had moved to a new location triggered a reverter under section 2 of the Act, thereby rendering the proceeds of the sale liable to be transferred to them. The appellant, Oxfordshire County Council, argued that the proceeds from the sale could be used to pay off the costs of the new school building, as planned. The central issue was whether the site ceased to be used for the purposes of the Act prior to its sale, which would activate a reverter, or whether the site could be sold with vacant possession after the school had moved to a new location.

The Supreme Court held that sections 2 and 14 of the 1841 Act should be interpreted as a coherent whole, adopting a broad and practical approach in line with the purposes of the Act. The court found that the site did not cease to be used for the purposes of the Act when the school moved to a new location, as there was an intention to sell the site and use the proceeds to improve the new school premises. This interpretation avoided the need for potentially undesirable devices to circumvent the reverter, aligned with the public interest in the provision of education, and was consistent with the intentions of grantors who would not have wished to recall their benefaction simply because their school was a success and had to move to larger premises. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, affirming that the proceeds of the sale could be used to pay off the costs of the new school building.

The final order of the court was that the appeal be allowed, and the decision of the Court of Appeal was overturned. The proceeds from the sale of the school site could be used by the appellant, Oxfordshire County Council, to pay off the costs of the new school building.