Decision Nº ACQ 196 2006. Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), 22-12-2009
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | Mr Norman J Rose FRICSMr Andrew J Trott FRICS |
| Date | 22 December 2009 |
| Court | Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) |
| Judgement Number | ACQ 196 2006 |
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UPPER TRIBUNAL (LANDS CHAMBER) |
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UT Neutral citation number: [2009] UKUT 126 (LC)
LT Case Number: ACQ/196-199/2006
TRIBUNALS, COURTS AND ENFORCEMENT ACT 2007
IN THE MATTER OF A NOTICE OF REFERENCE
BETWEEN (1) PERSIMMON HOMES (MIDLANDS) LIMITED (2) ST ALBANS DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE
(3) OLD ROAD SECURITIES PLC Claimants
Before: N J Rose FRICS and A J Trott FRICS
Sitting at Procession House, 110 New Bridge Street, London EC4V 6JL
on 15/16 and 19/23 January 2009
Robin Purchas QC and Philip Petchey, instructed by Williams & Co, solicitors of Ampthill for the Claimants
Timothy Morshead, instructed by Treasury Solicitors, for the Acquiring Authority
The following cases are referred to in this decision:
Transport for London v Spirerose Limited (In Administration) [2009] RVR 18 (CA)
Transport for London v Spirerose Limited (in Administration) [2009] 4 All ER 810
Urban Edge Group Limited v London Underground Limited [2009] UKUT 103 (LC)
Essex County Showground Ltd v Essex County Council [2006] RVR 336 (LT)
Esso Petroleum Company Limited v Secretary of State for Transport [2008] RVR 351
Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered v Hampshire County Council [1980] 1 EGLR 150
Leicester City Council v Leicestershire County Council [1995] 2 EGLR 169
Pointe Gourde Quarrying and Transport Company Limited v Sub-Intendent of Crown Lands [1947] AC 565 (PC)
Jelson Ltd v Blaby District Council [1977] 1 WLR 1020
Melwood Units Pty Ltd v Main Roads Commissioner [1979] AC 426
Davy v Leeds Corpn [1965] 1 WLR 445
Fletcher Estates (Harlescott) Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment [2000] 2 AC 307
The following cases were referred to in argument:
Margate Corporation v Devotwill Investments Limited [1970] 3 All ER 864 (HL)
Trocette Property Company Limited v GLC [1974] RVR 306 (CA)
Waters v Welsh Development Agency [2004] 1 WLR 1304 (HL)
RMC (UK) Limited v Greenwich LBC [2005] RVR 140 (LT)
Greenweb Limited v Wandsworth LBC [2008] RVR 294
Spirerose Limited (In Administration) v Transport for London [2008] RVR 12 (LT)
Transport for London v Spirerose Limited (In Administration) [2009] RVR 18 (CA)
Fletcher Estates Ltd v Secretary of State [2000] 2 AC 307
Myers v Milton Keynes Development Corporation [1974] 1 WLR 696
Director of Buildings v Shun Fung [1995] 2 AC 111
South Eastern Railway v LCC [1915] 2 Ch 252
Cooke v Secretary of State for the Environment (1974) 27 P & CR 234
Introduction
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These four references are to determine the compensation payable by the Secretary of State for Transport, the acquiring authority, for the compulsory acquisition of 2.4515 ha. (6.058 acres) of land at Oakley Road, Clapham, Bedfordshire (the reference land). The freehold interest in the reference land was sold to Persimmon Homes (Midlands) Limited (Persimmon) prior to the date of entry by the St Albans Diocesan Board of Finance (SDBF). Persimmon agreed that SDBF and Old Road Securities plc (ORS) who were granted an option to purchase the subject land in 1994 would retain the right to negotiate and receive any compensation arising from the Secretary of State for Transport’s acquisition. Four references were made to the Tribunal, one in the name of each of the parties and one in joint names. It is agreed that these references are to be dealt with together as one claim.
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The reference land was compulsorily acquired under the A6 Trunk Road (Clapham Bypass) Compulsory Purchase Order (No.PS10) 2000 and the A6 Trunk Road (Clapham Bypass) Supplementary Compulsory Purchase Order (No.PS11) 2000. Notices to treat were served on 17 May 2000. Entry was taken on 5 January 2001, which is the valuation date.
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In the light of the evidence we find the following facts. The reference land comprised an irregularly shaped parcel of land, occupying the south western corner of the Clapham Folly site, which lay on the north western side of the village of Clapham. The Folly site had an area of approximately 15 ha. It had a frontage on the east of 632 metres to the A6 Trunk Road (Milton Road) and on the south a frontage of 248 metres to Oakley Road, from which access was taken. Oakley Road was a county road, which linked Clapham to the nearby village of Oakley.
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The Folly site was formerly glebe land of Clapham and Biddenham, owned by SDBF. The entire western side of the reference land (195 metres) was enclosed by a substantial boundary hedgerow. On the northern and eastern sides the reference land boundaries did not follow any established physical features. They ran across an area of relatively open land, enclosed by a mix of trees, other vegetation and open land. That area comprised old gravel workings, subsequently filled with inert waste, open storage, grazing and allotments. The open storage use was unsightly. There were areas of contamination within that part of the Folly site. A public footpath crossed the Folly site, linking Clapham with the village of Oakley, one kilometre to the west. About 128 metres of the footpath ran across the reference land.
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The physical circumstances of the reference land were the same at the valuation date as at the date of notice to treat. These circumstances in turn were generally the same as those at 23 September 1999, when outline planning permission was granted for comprehensive development of the Folly site (including the reference land) for residential, commercial, community and open space purposes. The only difference was that the use of the land for storage, grazing and allotments had ceased by 17 March 2000.
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The outline planning permission included a condition, No.22, that
“There shall be no development on any land required for the A6 Clapham Bypass. In particular, there shall be no development on land identified on the Compulsory Purchase Order plan or the Supplementary Compulsory Purchase Order plan for the A6 Bypass. [The reference land]”
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Prior to the opening of the bypass the A6 through the village of Clapham was a single carriageway road of varying width. The built-up frontage of the village extended over a distance of some 2½ km. The provision of a bypass for Clapham had been Government policy since 1985, when it was...
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