Decision Nº ACQ 126 2009. Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), 16-09-2010
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | Mr Paul Francis FRICSHer Honour Judge Alice Robinson |
| Date | 16 September 2010 |
| Court | Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) |
| Judgement Number | ACQ 126 2009 |
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UPPER TRIBUNAL (LANDS CHAMBER) |
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UT Neutral citation number: [2010] UKUT 325 (LC)
ACQ/126/2009
TRIBUNALS, COURTS AND ENFORCEMENT ACT 2007
COMPENSATION – compulsory purchase – site of former plant hire depot – planning permission – whether planning permission to be assumed on the basis that land allocated in the Development Plan – whether any other expectation of planning consent as hope value - development costs – valuation – compensation determined at £1,903,689 - Land Compensation Act 1961ss. 14(3) and 16(3)
IN THE MATTER of a NOTICE OF REFERENCE
BETWEEN ABBEY INVESTMENTS LIMITED Claimant
Authority
Re: Land at 77–82 Victoria Dock Road, London E16 1DA
Before: Her Honour Judge Alice Robinson &
Paul Francis FRICS
Sitting at: 43-45 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3AS
on 17-21 & 24 May 2010
William Hicks QC and Robert Walton, instructed by Dickens Schiebert Ltd, solicitors of Potters Bar for the claimant
Guy Roots QC, instructed by Hammonds, solicitors of Leeds, for the acquiring authority
The following cases are referred to in this decision:
Transport for London v Spirerose Ltd [2009] 4 All ER 810, HL
Urban Edge Group Ltd v London Underground Ltd [2009] RVR 361, LT
Thomas Newell Ltd v Lancaster City Council [2010] UKUT 2 (LC), LT
Pointe Gourde Quarrying and Transport Co Ltd v Sub-Intendent of Crown Lands [1947] AC 565, PC
Waters v Welsh Development Agency [2004] 1 WLR 1304, HL
Cedar Rapids Manufacturing and Power Co v Lacoste [1914] AC 569, PC
The following cases were also referred to in argument:
Grampian Regional Council v Secretary of State for Scotland [1983] 3 All ER 673, HL
Fletcher Estates (Harlescott) v Secretary of State for the Environment [2000] 2 AC 307, HL
Margate Corporation v Devotwill Investments Ltd [1970] 3 All ER 864, HL
Persimmon Homes (Midlands) Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport [2009] UKUT 126 (LC), LT
Purfleet Farms Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment [2002] RVR 203, LT
Jumbuk Ltd v West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive [2008] RVR 186, LT
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This is a decision to determine the compensation payable to Abbey Investments Limited (the claimant) by the London Development Agency (LDA or the acquiring authority) in respect of the compulsory acquisition of 77-82 Victoria Dock Road, London E16 1DA (the reference land) under the London Development Agency (Silvertown Way, Canning Town) Compulsory Purchase Order 2006 (the CPO).
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Mr William Hicks QC and Mr Robert Walton of counsel appeared for the claimant and called four expert witnesses: Dr Nicholas John Bather BA (Hons) PHD MRTPI (Planning), Mr James Carr BSc (Hons) Dip Arch (Dist) RIBA ARB (Design), Mr Jonathan Smith BSc MRICS (Development costs) and Mr Richard William Cobb FRICS (Valuation). Mr Guy Roots QC appeared on behalf of the acquiring authority and called Mr Stephen Robinson MA FRICS MRTPI (Planning and Design), Mr Thomas Peter O’Brien BSC (Hons) MRICS (Development Costs) and Mr Colin Michael David Cottage BSc (Hons) MRICS IRRV (Valuation).
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The parties produced statements of agreed facts and issues remaining to be determined on planning and valuation issues. From these, together with the evidence and our inspection of the reference land, developments cited as comparables and the surrounding area generally on 8 June 2010 we find the following facts. The reference land comprises a rectangular site of .0995 ha (0.246 acres) which was described in the Schedule to the CPO as “995.0 square metres or thereabouts of land and buildings….comprising steel clad unit used as a hire depot together with fenced open storage area.” It is located immediately to the south of Canning Town Transport Interchange (bus station, Jubilee Line underground and Docklands Light Railway), fronting the A1101 Silvertown Way, a main entry point to the Docklands area south of the Royal Docks and Thames riverside, to the east, and Victoria Dock Road, with railway lines beyond, to the west. On the opposite side of Silvertown Way is a large modern residential flatted development (The Sphere), a Holiday Inn Express hotel together with housing areas to the north, and industrial users to the south. Beyond the railway lines, to the west of Victoria Dock Road is open land leading to Bow Creek on the River Lea. The land immediately adjacent to the reference land, to the north and south, was occupied by commercial/industrial and open storage enterprises and included semi-derelict, under utilised or vacant properties.
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At the valuation date, the modern steel framed warehouse building on the reference land contained a ground floor showroom, office, workshop, and wc extending to 317.54 sq m (3,418 sq ft), with a rear store of 78.55 sq m (843 sq ft) and a first/mezzanine floor of 99.57 sq m (1,072 sq ft) giving a total built area of 495.66 sq m (5,333 sq ft). The rest of the site, extending to 300.00 sq m (3,229 sq ft), which was accessed off a slip road to Silvertown Way, known as Peto Street North, comprised a fenced open storage area. The land was acquired by the claimant in October 1988 and was occupied under the terms of an open ended inter-company agreement by M & J Engineers Ltd, a trading subsidiary of the claimant, as a plant depot from October 1989 to 29 August 2008. The rent payable at the date the premises were vacated was £44,000 pa reviewable three-yearly. It was agreed that, for the purposes of the assessment of compensation, the land was to be assumed to be available with vacant possession. The site has now been cleared, levelled and boarded up, as has the rest of the 2.4 ha (5.93 acres) comprised within the CPO.
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Following an initial approach from LDA in March 2005, advising that it was proposing to make a CPO, the claimant responded to the effect that it would be contested on the grounds that it wished to promote its own scheme for the reference land and surrounding area. Negotiations between the parties commenced and an initial offer of £1.25 million was made for the land. The CPO was subsequently made on 29 March 2006, for the purposes of furthering the economic development and regeneration of the LDA’s area in general and in particular Canning Town, by securing development west of Silvertown Way between the Docklands Light Railway Station and the Lower Lea Crossing. The proposals described in the CPO were formally objected to by the claimant. However, negotiations continued between the parties despite this objection, and in October 2006 the claimant submitted a residual valuation of £6.774 million. A public inquiry was held in January 2007, and the Order was confirmed by the Secretary of State without modification on 13 April 2007. A General Vesting Declaration was made on 27 March 2008 and the land formally vested in the acquiring authority on 29 April 2008, which is the valuation date for the purposes of this reference. An advance payment of £1.5 million was made to the claimant on 16 June 2008, and the notice of reference to this tribunal was submitted on 6 March 2009.
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The development plan comprised the London Plan Consolidated with Alterations since 2004 (2008) and the London Borough of Newham Unitary Development Plan 2001 (the UDP). Relevant supplementary planning guidance included the Lower Lea Valley Opportunity Area Planning Framework 2007 and the Canning Town and Customs House SPG 2004 which was in the process of being updated, the most recent draft prior to the valuation date being March 2008. Relevant national policy included PPS1 Delivering Sustainable Development, PPS3 Housing and PPG12 Development Plans.
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