PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT
Pedestrian / Cycle Track Link to Haute Vallée School,
Mont-a-l’Abbe, St. Helier
Purpose of the Report
To secure the acquisition of agricultural land (part Field 1219) for the construction of a pedestrian / cycle track link between the new Category A housing development constructed on Field 1218, Mont-a-l’Abbe and Haute Vallée School. (N.B. As required by the terms and conditions of the formal Planning Obligation Agreement entered into between the developers of the housing site and the former Environment and Public Services Committee).
Background
1. Field 1218 Mont-a-l’Abbe was zoned for Category A housing purposes when the current Jersey Island Plan was approved in July 2002.
2. On 25th March 2004, the former Environment and Public Services Committee resolved to grant planning permission, subject to numerous conditions and to achieving a Planning Obligation Agreement (POA) within a year.
3. As a consequence, the Law Officers were asked to draw up a draft POA, which was to incorporate, among other things, a means of guaranteeing the provision of a cycle / pedestrian path link which extends beyond the northern site boundary to Haute Vallée School across Field 1219. (N.B. This was originally called for in the development brief for the site of September 2003).
4. During the Committee’s deliberations, it was agreed that the former Department of Property Services should be enlisted to assist in bringing this requirement to a satisfactory conclusion and a formal written request for assistance followed at the beginning of April 2004.
5. The POA was eventually signed and registered in January 2005 and the Planning Permission was issued accordingly.
6. As part of the POA and in connection with the required cycle / pedestrian path link, the developer is required to provide the following funds:
· £46,000 (paid) for land acquisition, including feasibility work, professional and legal fees, the cost of any Arbitration Board and the cost of certain bank re-grading; and
· An additional £36,000 for construction works when the land has been acquired by the Public (if the developer decided not to directly undertake the construction work involved).
7. Also under the terms of the POA, the developer is entitled to have his money refunded if the Public are unable to acquire the relevant land within 3 years of the registering of the agreement in the Royal Court (i.e. by 14th January 2008) and if compulsory purchase proceedings have not been commenced.
8. There has been various correspondence and discussions between the former Department of Property Services (now Property Holdings) and the absentee land owner, who lives in Florida, U.S.A. These have all come to nothing. It is clear that the owner has a ‘hope value’ for his land and is not prepared to part with it without some reflection of potential residential use value. This is in spite of the current use of Field 1219 as agricultural land and its current designation in the Island Plan as “safeguarded for education purposes”. In such circumstances, it is not surprising that the use of agricultural land values as the basis for negotiating the acquisition of his land is not an attractive prospect for the land owner.
9. In September 2007, the Minister for Planning and Environment (the Minister) was asked for a political steer as to whether the acquisition of the land should still be actively pursued and on the possibility of using Compulsory Purchase (CP) powers to secure this end. At this point, Property Holdings were awaiting feedback from the Minister.
10. The Minister responded on 8th November 2007. He recognised the need to act expediently to acquire the land before the deadline and indicated he would be prepared to use CP powers, if necessary. Property Holdings were advised accordingly. However, the Minister also sought confirmation of the views of local political representatives with an interest in this matter.
11. Two of the local political representatives responded. Deputy Fox confirmed his support for ‘Safer Routes to School’ and for implementing the cycle / pedestrian path link by CP, if necessary. He also confirmed that, as a separate exercise, the Minister for Education was considering requesting Property Holdings to acquire part of Field 1219 (by CP if necessary) to extend the current playing fields at Haute Vallée School. Deputy Hilton has also replied expressing the imperative for linking the housing development to the school and would also support the use of CP powers, if agreement cannot be reached with the landowner.
12. The case officer has since left Property Holdings and, at a recent meeting with the Director of Property Management, he confirmed that he would require a formal Ministerial request to proceed with the use of CP powers to acquire the land in question, under the Compulsory Purchase of Land (Procedure)(Jersey) Law, 1961.
Discussion
The proposed cycle/pedestrian path link was intended to help connect / integrate the housing development into the local area and provide for a convenient and safe route through and from the site for Haute Vallée school pupils and for local residents seeking access to the school and the green lanes beyond. It would also have the advantage of promoting more sustainable forms of transport in the form of walking and cycling.
The importance of the link was recognised from the outset in the approved development brief and the POA seeks to guarantee its provision, through the commuting of funds for land acquisition and agreements relating to construction.
Negotiations with the landowner to acquire part of Field 1219 have proved fruitless, not least because he is not prepared to entertain parting with the land without some reflection of residential value in the terms to be agreed.
Time is now of the essence, because under the terms of the POA the requirement for the track link shall not apply and the commuted sum provided by the developer will be refundable, if:
· the Public are unable to acquire the relevant land within 3 years of the registering of the POA (i.e. by 14th January 2008); and
· CP proceedings have not been commenced.
It would now appear that the only way possible to secure the path link under the terms of the POA is for the Minister to instruct Property Holdings to begin CP proceedings for the acquisition of the required land, under the Compulsory Purchase of Land (Procedure)(Jersey) Law, 1961. Legal advice is currently being sought to determine whether any such instruction would constitute commencement of proceedings.
Legal implications
The States of Jersey has the power to acquire land by compulsory purchase in accordance with the Compulsory Purchase of Land (Procedure)(Jersey) Law, 1961. However, under Article 119 of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002, the States must be satisfied that the land is to be acquired for the purpose of this Law. These are set out in Article 2 and include:
· To ensure that when land is developed the development is in accordance with a development plan that provides for the orderly, comprehensive and sustainable development of land in a manner that best serves the interests of the community;
· To provide for the orderly management of transport and travel, both on, and from and to the Island;
· To impose other necessary controls on the development and use of land on the Island.
Under Article 119, the Minister (formerly the Committee) shall be the acquiring authority and a Board of Arbitrators will be established to assess the amount of compensation to be paid to the landowner.
Property Holdings has previously intimated that the CP process itself can be relatively quick, but that the Arbitration process to determine the land value can take a considerable time.
Resource implications
It is anticipated that the work arising will be carried out using existing staff resources at Property Holdings and the Crown Officers Department.
Under the terms of the Planning Obligation Agreement the developer has paid £46,000 for land acquisition, including feasibility work, professional and legal fees, the cost of any Arbitration Board and the cost of certain bank re-grading.
Consultation
There has been consultation between Property Holdings (including the former Department of Property Services) and the landowner to try to reach agreement for the acquisition of the relevant land.
The Minister has sought the views of local political representatives regarding the acquisition and, if necessary, the use of CP powers.
There has been consultation between the Department of Planning and Building Services and Property Holdings (including the former Department of Property Services) regarding the proposed path link and how it might be implemented.
Recommendation
That the Minister for Planning and Environment decides to:
(i) request Property Holdings to proceed with the use of CP powers to acquire the land in question, before the Planning Obligation Agreement deadline of 14th January 2008, under the Compulsory Purchase of Land (Procedure)(Jersey) Law, 1961.
Reason(s) for Decision
- To enable the construction of a pedestrian / cycle track link between the recently constructed Category A housing development on Field 1218, Mont-a-l’Abbé and Haute Vallée School, as required by the terms and conditions of the formal Planning Obligation Agreement entered into between the developers of the housing site and the former Environment and Public Services Committee.
- To ensure that CP proceedings have commenced before the 3 year deadline in the Planning Obligation Agreement, and so avoid the requirement for the path link ceasing to apply and the consequent refunding of the commuted sum paid by the developer for land acquisition.
3. To provide for the orderly, comprehensive and sustainable development of land in a manner that best serves the interests of the community.
- To help integrate the recently constructed housing site with its surroundings.
- To provide a convenient and safe route for residents to and from Haute Vallée School and the green lanes beyond.
- To promote the use of more sustainable forms of transport (i.e. walking and cycling).
Action Required
Inform Property Holdings of the Minister’s decision.
Inform the developers of the recently constructed Category A housing development in Field 1218 and local political representatives of the Minister’s decision.
Written by: | Roger Corfield, Principal Planner |
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Approved by: | Kevin Pilley, Assistant Director – Policy and Projects |
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Endorsed by: | |
Attachments:
Appendix 1: Location Plan showing an indicative location for the cycle / pedestrian track link across Field 1219, St. Helier.
Appendix 2: Sectional Drawings showing construction details (Drg. No. 1062/001 - PSD)
File ref: P/2003/2411
gov.je