PAPER E

Purpose: For Decision

Committee EXECUTIVE

Date 15 SEPTEMBER 2015

Title EXCHANGE OF LAND TO ENABLE A HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT SCHEME AT UNDERCLIFF DRIVE, ST LAWRENCE,

Report to LEADER OF THE COUNCIL AND EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR CHILDRENS SERVICES AND LEAD MEMBER FOR RESOURCES AND THE MEMBER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC PROTECTION AND PFI

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. This report seeks approval for the council to exchange freehold land with the Hampshire and Wildlife Trust to deliver a road improvement scheme at Undercliff Drive, St Lawrence.

2. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (the trust) owns woodland on Undercliff Drive, St Lawrence, which the council needs control of to construct part of a new road following a landslip in 2014. After looking at various options the trust has agreed to transfer this land to the council in exchange for council owned land at Mead, .

3. The completed works at Undercliff Drive will enable affected residents to regain access to their properties, and for the public to use part of the route as a green way.

BACKGROUND

4. In February 2014 heavy rainfall contributed to a landslip at Undercliff Drive, St Lawrence, which resulted in closure of the road and nine residents losing access to their homes.

5. Since then, the council has been working towards a solution to ensure affected residents regain access to their properties, and if possible give members of the public the ability to use the road. A report was taken to the executive in November 2014 with various options. It was resolved at that stage to “Undertake a combination of pedestrian access and a low cost limited access road from the west. Work to commence and be completed as soon as is practicably possible.” A budget was confirmed to enable the preferred road improvement scheme to proceed.

6. Accordingly, a scheme has been developed with Island Roads. To enable a new road to be constructed on stable ground it is necessary to acquire land from the trust. This will enable the alignment of the road to be moved landward, away from the area of unstable E - 1

ground which suffered land sliding. A number of mature trees will have to be felled to allow construction, so Island Roads is in discussion with Natural England as well as the council’s tree officer as the area is designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and protected by a blanket tree preservation order. Due to the scale of land sliding to the east of the nine properties, access will only be possible from the east on foot or by bicycle.

7. To deliver the scheme, the council needs to secure freehold ownership of a small area of woodland owned by a third party, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, a site plan of which is attached at Appendix A.

8. The council has been negotiating with the trust for some time on this matter, looking at all options to take control of this land (purchase, an exchange of land for another council site etc.). However, the trust confirmed that a critical issue for its board is that there must be no loss of high quality heritage land to the trust as a result of the sale, as the woodland at Undercliff Drive is an SSSI, and therefore of high quality. In addition, an alternative site must be located close to the trust’s existing landholdings to enable efficient management. Both criteria limit the amount of suitable alternative land.

9. As a result of extensive negotiations, the trust has confirmed that its board may be prepared to approve a land swap for the council’s site at Alverstone Mead, Sandown, as this is the only council site available that satisfies the above requirements. A site plan of the council’s land at Alverstone Mead is attached as Appendix B.

10. The council’s land at Alverstone Mead extends to approximately 40 acres, is a wildlife sanctuary and has been independently valued at £5,040 for the freehold interest.

11. The trust’s land at Undercliff Drive extends to two acres, is SSSI woodland and has been valued at £4,000 for the freehold interest.

12. The reason that the value of the council’s land at Alverstone Mead is so low in comparison to the woodland despite being substantially larger, is that the council’s freehold land is subject to a 99 year lease to a third party (for wildlife use) with 79 years remaining. So although the Alverstone Mead site is much larger than the woodland at Undercliff Drive, the council’s freehold value is substantially depressed due to the fact that it is subject to a lease for the next 79 years.

13. Accordingly for the council to deliver the scheme at Undercliff Drive, an option would be for it to transfer its freehold land holding at Alverstone Mead to the trust, in exchange for the trust’s freehold woodland at Undercliff Drive.

14. On this basis, both parties have indicated that a land value of £1 per site would be acceptable.

15. As noted above the land values for each site are very similar, so there is no substantial loss or gain in value to either organisation as a result of this transaction, although the council will make a small loss of £1,040. This is because the trust does not wish to sell the woodland at Undercliff Drive, but the council wishes to deliver the highway scheme. Accordingly, the trust would not be willing to pay for any difference in value – it could simply choose not to transfer the land.

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16. In undertaking boreholes associated with provision of an access to Undercliff residents, laboratory results have confirmed the presence of asbestos on Undercliff Drive. The asbestos has been found within the rubble core of the access road constructed by residents of Undercliff Drive, which adjoins the land owned by the trust. The asbestos was found within a ground investigation trial hole at a depth of 0.6 metres and again at 1.0 metres.

17. The owners of the adjoining land including the trust have been notified, as have the Environment Agency and Natural England. Island Roads, with the assistance of technical specialists, will seek to identify the extent of the contamination before agreeing the appropriate course of action with relevant parties. It is possible that contamination may be present in a small section of land owned by the trust and that any remediation of the land within the highway may also be required for the trust’s land.

18. There are potential costs implications in dealing appropriately with the asbestos, however the majority of the rubble placed is within council ownership rather than land owned by the trust.

19. The council needs to progress the land swap and highway works quickly, before the winter begins. Accordingly works have already commenced on the council owned land, with the works to be undertaken on the trust’s woodland starting once the trust’s land is in the council’s ownership. It is hoped that the road improvement scheme will be complete and the road will open by late autumn.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

20. This exchange of land supports the council’s priorities as set out in the corporate plan 2015-2017:

• Supporting growth in the economy, making the Island a better place and keeping it safe.

• Ensuring that all the resources available to the island are used in the most effective way in achieving the island’s priorities.

CONSULTATION

21. Consultation for the land swap proposal in this report has included the service area (parks and countryside), the local member and the town council. Any comments received prior to the meeting will be reported verbally.

FINANCIAL / BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

22. If the land exchange takes place on the suggested terms of £1 per site, there would be no substantial capital gain or loss to either organisation. There is a small loss in capital value to the council of £1,040 due to the council’s asset to be transferred being worth £1,040 more than the trust’s asset.

23. The council will need to fund legal and surveyors fees to oversee the exchange of sites. Each party will bear their own costs. There is sufficient funding for these costs in the

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budget identified when the road improvement scheme was approved (under council decision reference 100 (14/15)).

24. There will also be capital expenditure to clear part of the site and construct the road, but the funding for this will also be met by this budget.

25. As the site is already leased to a third party who manage the site on behalf of the council, there will be very limited revenue benefits to the council in disposing of the site.

26. There will be a future revenue cost to the council in managing/maintaining the remaining woodland. The cost of this will be met by the council’s parks and countryside department.

CARBON EMISSIONS

27. As both sites comprise land only and not buildings, the council’s carbon emissions will remain unchanged as a result of this land swap.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

28. The council will be required to transfer its freehold ownership of Alverstone Mead to the trust, while the trust will be required to transfer the freehold ownership of its woodland at Undercliff Drive to the council.

29. The council has the power to dispose of property under section 123 of a Local Government Act 1972 which requires it to achieve ‘best consideration’ in any disposals.

30. The council has the power to acquire any land and/or property under section 120 of the Local Government Act 1972, by agreement for the purposes of any of its functions or for the benefit, improvement or development of their area. The council also has the power to acquire land for the construction of a highway which is to be maintainable at the public expense, or for an improvement of the highway by virtue of section 239 of the Highways Act 1980.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

31. The council, as a public body, is required to meet its statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010 to have due regard to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote equal opportunities between people from different groups and to foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. It is not considered that the proposed transactions will impact negatively on any of the protected characteristics. The construction of the road that will arise out of the transactions may have a positive impact.

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SECTION 17 CRIME AND DISORDER ACT 1998

32. The land swap in its own right has no implications, but the completion of an improved access by road for some of the property owners will have a positive impact on the security of those residents allowing them by vehicle closer to their properties while currently they need to walk from the closure point along an unlit carriageway.

OPTIONS

33. The options available to the council are as follows

Option 1 - Approve the exchange of land of Alverstone Mead, Sandown, for the trust’s woodland at Undercliff Drive, St Lawrence, as set out in this report.

Option 2 - Reject the exchange of land and endeavour to design an alternative highway scheme which does not require third party land.

Option 3 - Reject the land exchange and abandon the highway scheme.

RISK MANAGEMENT

34. If Option 2 is chosen, the risk is that after a great deal of further work it transpires that an alternative scheme which does not require third party land is not possible, leaving the council in the same position of needing third party land at some point in the future, having delayed the project until at least summer 2016 (works cannot be undertaken during the winter months so time is of the essence) and having incurred more (potentially substantial) costs in the process.

35. The trust may then decide it no longer wishes to dispose of its woodland at Undercliff Drive, at which point the council would be forced to either design an alternative scheme and open negotiations with a new third party land owner (with all the time and costs involved in doing so), seek to purchase the trust’s land via compulsory purchase (which would be time consuming, costly and may be unsuccessful) or abandon the highway scheme altogether.

36. Option 3 would result in a continued issue for the council, as the previous council decision (reference 100 (14/15)) requires the council to identify a solution for the residents affected by this road, therefore inevitably an alternative highways solution would need to be found.

EVALUATION

28. The council has endeavoured to design a road improvement scheme at Undercliff Drive which does not require third party land, but it is not possible to do so. An alternative scheme to the one currently proposed is possible, but still requires third party land so there is no benefit to the council in switching to that design. The above proposal using the trust’s land is the most cost effective solution in terms of land acquisition, and is able to be delivered within the tight timescale available.

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29. It may be possible for the council to compulsory purchase third party land, but this process is costly, time consuming (at least a year) and the outcome is still uncertain (an order may not be supported by the Secretary of State). The above proposal incurs no substantial acquisition costs to the council, only legal and surveyor’s fees.

30. It is possible to reject the above highway proposal and simply abandon the scheme, but the council has already resolved to deliver a highway solution and approved a budget to do so. To abandon this project now would still require a solution for the affected residents. Accordingly, in light of the above, it is recommended to proceed with Option 1.

RECOMMENDATION

37. Option 1 - Approve the exchange of land at Alverstone Mead, Sandown, for the trust’s woodland at Undercliff Drive, St Lawrence, as set out in this report.

APPENDICES ATTACHED

38. Appendix A - Woodland at Undercliff Drive, St Lawrence, Ventnor - site plan.

39. Appendix B - Alverstone Mead, Sandown - site plan.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

40. Decision reference 100 (14/15) “Options for Providing Access for Properties Affected by the Current Closure of Undercliff Drive” (Report) (Decision)

Contact Point: Andrea Jenkins - Senior Estates Surveyor,  01983 821000 x 8895 e-mail [email protected]

JOHN METCALFE COUNCILLOR JONATHAN BACON Deputy Managing Director Leader of the Council and Executive Member for Childrens Services and Lead Member for Resources

COUNCILLOR PHIL JORDAN Executive Member for Public Health, Public Protection and PFI

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