People in Britain will lose the right to sell land in acres under a new Brussels ruling nodded through by the Government. In a low-key meeting, a junior minister agreed last week to abolish the ancient imperial measurement and replace it with the metric equivalent 'hectare' from 2010. The UK previously had an opt-out, technically known as a 'derogation', from the EU's use of some metric measurements, which allowed the continued use of acres for the pruposes of land registration. But from January 1, 2010, the unit, which dates back to the 13th century, will be banned.