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LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
From the second half of this BBC News online story...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...12/4424510.stm "[Sports Minister Richard] Caborn also said he expects a deal will be struck within a day over a contested strip of land wanted for the Olympic site. London & Continental Railways (LCR) has been involved in a tussle with the London Development Agency over the 180-acre Stratford City site it owns as part of a development consortium. LCR want it for a £4bn development including 4,850 homes, 120 shops and office space. The LDA has other ideas and there has been talk of a compulsory purchase order. It has been argued that the land is essential for access roads and car parking for the Olympics. Caborn said: "The best way here for all parties is to have an agreement and I'm hopeful that will happen in the next 24 hours." The land in question is (presumably) not needed for the operation of the CTRL or associated station. A seperate news piece on RailPeople [1] states that LCR has partnered with two other developers, Chelsfield plc and Stanhope plc, for the 'Stratford City' development. Was LCR given any adjacent land by the government as a result of the CTRL construction, given that the CTRL is a public-private partnership scheme? And why and how has LCR become such a big player in property development? (LCR basically subcontract the UK side of teh Eurostar operation to a seperate company, Inter-Capital & Regional Rail). [1] http://www.railwaypeople.com/rail-pr...opment-17.html |
LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
Mizter T wrote: From the second half of this BBC News online story... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...12/4424510.stm "[Sports Minister Richard] Caborn also said he expects a deal will be struck within a day over a contested strip of land wanted for the Olympic site. London & Continental Railways (LCR) has been involved in a tussle with the London Development Agency over the 180-acre Stratford City site it owns as part of a development consortium. LCR want it for a £4bn development including 4,850 homes, 120 shops and office space. The LDA has other ideas and there has been talk of a compulsory purchase order. It has been argued that the land is essential for access roads and car parking for the Olympics. Caborn said: "The best way here for all parties is to have an agreement and I'm hopeful that will happen in the next 24 hours." The land in question is (presumably) not needed for the operation of the CTRL or associated station. A seperate news piece on RailPeople [1] states that LCR has partnered with two other developers, Chelsfield plc and Stanhope plc, for the 'Stratford City' development. Was LCR given any adjacent land by the government as a result of the CTRL construction, given that the CTRL is a public-private partnership scheme? And why and how has LCR become such a big player in property development? (LCR basically subcontract the UK side of teh Eurostar operation to a seperate company, Inter-Capital & Regional Rail). [1] http://www.railwaypeople.com/rail-pr...opment-17.html 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. Kevin |
LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
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... -- John Band astic - delete iastic to reply |
LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
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. |
LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
"umpston" wrote 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. If they cannot agree by negotiation, they can avoid the CPO process by agreeing to appoint an arbitrator to come up with a fair price, or possibly by appointing a mediator to help them copme to an agreement. As well as LCR, there are a lot of small businesses on the Olympic site, some of which own their premises, and others own leases. They all have to be bought out, and for some of them finding suitable alternative premises, or even moving or replacing equipment, presents a real difficulty. Peter |
LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
Peter Masson wrote: "umpston" wrote 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. If they cannot agree by negotiation, they can avoid the CPO process by agreeing to appoint an arbitrator to come up with a fair price, or possibly by appointing a mediator to help them copme to an agreement. As well as LCR, there are a lot of small businesses on the Olympic site, some of which own their premises, and others own leases. They all have to be bought out, and for some of them finding suitable alternative premises, or even moving or replacing equipment, presents a real difficulty. I agree - I am a customer of one of the businesses there and have previously made the suggestion of building a new industrial estate at the edge of the Olympic zone for them to move to. Thre is plenty of room. I am also a supporter of the Olympic project - but Stratford will still need other jobs and services after the Olympics have come and gone. An imaginative and sustainable redevelopment of the area should, in my view, include industrial units to provide employment and affordable homes for the workers to live in as well as all the up-market shops and flats. |
LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
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LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
Ian Johnston wrote: On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 15:13:10 UTC, wrote: They are going to get rock bottom prices because it is semi-derilict industrial land and after the Olympics it will be worth billions. After the Olympics it will be semi-derelict industrial land again. Great safe prophecies of our time: 1) The London Olympics will be a complete screwup, many times over budget, 2) The supposed regeneration of depreived areas won't happen. Ian You could be so wrong Ian - I certainly hope so. |
LCR's Stratford City land wanted for Olympics
"umpston" wrote:
Ian Johnston wrote: On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 15:13:10 UTC, wrote: They are going to get rock bottom prices because it is semi-derilict industrial land and after the Olympics it will be worth billions. After the Olympics it will be semi-derelict industrial land again. Great safe prophecies of our time: 1) The London Olympics will be a complete screwup, many times over budget, 2) The supposed regeneration of depreived areas won't happen. Ian You could be so wrong Ian - I certainly hope so. Unfortunately, Ian is very likely to be right. The trade unions will make sure that the work doesn't get finished on time unless their members are paid massive "bonuses", and the costs will skyrocket. Every landowner will screw the Olympic organisation for every million they can get. The money set aside for regeneration will have to be raided to pay for all of the above. |
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