John Band wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...

[the Olympic committe want to use some land that L&CR are planning to
develop]

Anybody know why they can't arrange a lease arrangement with the land
owners. They are going to get rock bottom prices because it is
semi-derilict industrial land and after the Olympics it will be worth
billions. A nice little earner for the people doing the compulsary
purchasing.

No, L&CR have outline planning permission to build a huge property
development at one of Central London's biggest transport hubs. If the
Olympic lot are daft enough to compulsory-purchase the land, then the
compensation bill will be astronomical...


The Olympics do not need the whole of the Stratford City site, just
bits on the edges. If L&CR are perhaps already seeking an astronomical
amount, for what might be small 'ransom strips' of land, it may be the
LDA cannot possibly agree at this stage.

An earlier, and more accurate, news report about the row can be found
at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...12/4408396.stm
Both parties are doing their duty: on the one side to secure maximum
return for their shareholders; and on the other to secure best-value
for public money. Not necessarily incompatible if they can agree a
fair price.

Better to negotiate agreement, as Richad Caborn says, and save the time
and legal fees. But if they cannot agree it may be that the CPO
process is the only way to establish what the fair value for these bits
of land should be.

81% of the Olympic site is already in public ownership. The other
landowners will naturally hold out for the best price they can get
(whether it is purchase or leasehold) - they will perceive the Olympics
as rolling in money. This is true to an extent but the Olympic project
cannot allow landowners or contractors to walk all over them at this
early stage or they will lose any chance of keeping control of the
costs.