33.—(1) A person shall not be entitled to a reversionary lease of the land or any part of the land where a necessary party to the granting of the lease satisfies the Court—

(a) that his interest in reversion in the land is a freehold estate or is for a term of not less than fifteen years, and

(b) (i) that he intends or has agreed to pull down and rebuild or to reconstruct the whole or a substantial portion of the buildings on the land and has planning permission for the work, or

(ii) that he requires vacant possession of the land for the purpose of carrying out a scheme of development of property which includes the land and has planning permission for the scheme, or

(iii) that for any reason the grant of a reversionary lease would not be consistent with good estate management.

(2) A person shall not be entitled to a reversionary lease where a planning authority, being a necessary party to the granting of the lease, satisfies the Court that, in case the reversionary lease would be a lease of the whole of the land, the land or any part of the land is situate in an area in respect of which the development plan indicates objectives for its development or renewal as being an obsolete area or that, in case the reversionary lease would be a lease of part of the land, that part or any part of that part is situate in such an area.

(3) A person shall not be entitled to a reversionary lease of land used wholly or partly for the purpose of carrying on a business where a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941, being a necessary party to the granting of the lease, will require possession within a period of five years after the termination of the existing lease for any purpose for which the local authority are entitled to acquire property compulsorily.

(4) A person who has been declared under subsection (1), (2) or (3) not to be entitled to a reversionary lease shall be entitled to remain in possession of the land, upon such terms as the Court may think proper, until the person who successfully objected to the grant of the lease or his successor in title becomes entitled to possession of the land.

(5) Where a lease has been refused under subsection (1), (2) or (3) and it appears to the Court, on application by the person who has been refused, that the intention, agreement or purpose, as the case may be, on account of which the application was refused has not been carried out within a reasonable time the Court may order the person concerned to pay such sum as it considers proper by way of punitive damages.

(6) Where a lease has been refused under subsection (1), (2) or (3), compensation in lieu of the lease shall be paid in accordance with section 59.