Government land grab in Wells

By grumpyoldgit2 at 21:13 on 09/02/10

Re-post

Has anyone noticed that the treasury dept has applied for and obtained planning permission for a house on the edge of Keward Walk. Apparently the land may, or may not have been owned by Somerset County Council (thats you and me), but now this piece of land is up for auction with the proceeds off to central government.

Theres a big plot right in front of the cathedral perhaps the'll be after that next. Thats worth a penny or two.

By grumpyoldgit2 at 21:13 on 09/02/10
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That is interesting GOG2, and as far as I can make-out, not general knowledge.
Is the area in question where I have put a yellow question mark? tinyurl.com/yfachzs

By Wells_Jaqui at 09:43 on 15/02/10
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Yes thats the one . Planning no 2009/0237 check out mdc website.

First application was withdrawn, the second one went in quietly and did not go to the planning board. was passed by the planning officer but there seems to be a doubt if the usual neighbour notification happened for the second application (is that legal?), the land is probably still owned by the original developers of Keward Walk (Wimpy). But I dont suppose they are aware of the land going up for auction for 60k. Or it may have been classed as a public area, no one really wants to know. Its up for auction in March. Perhaps the councillors for st cuthbert know something about it. Mendip or Somerset are not saying much, I guess thats what happens when the government is the party taking the profit

By grumpyoldgit2 at 20:12 on 15/02/10
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I don't think the land would still be owned by Wimpy if it is going up for auction. They probably sold it on to Mendip for a tidy profit in the first place...

By TimothyL12 at 08:40 on 17/02/10
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GOG2, I have searched the site & that reference doesn't seem to be turning anything up. You are obviously better at this! Could you put a link to the page which we can cut n paste please, I want to know more.

By WellieWonka at 12:12 on 22/02/10
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mdc website . seach planinng applications, put in 2009/0237 in the planning app number box and press search.

Tim mendip do not own the land the details on the app suggest somerset cc but the contact name is a little puzzled to have his name on the planning app as current owner. He says they generally claim land adjacent to a highway to stop persons encroaching or extending their gardens etc but on this occaision its not close enough to a highway and even fenced off from the nearest unclassified highway.

he was going to check the original docs from the keward walk build and get back to me, but as you might expect i have heard nothing.

By grumpyoldgit2 at 21:25 on 25/02/10
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Very interesting. Here's the link for anyone who wants to have a look:

tinyurl.com/yaqtxya Applications On-Line&TYPE=PL/PlanningPK.xml&PARAM0=385850&XSLT=/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/SiteFiles/Skins/Mendip/xslt/PL/PLDetails.xslt&FT=Planning Application Details&PUBLIC=Y&XMLSIDE=/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/SiteFiles/Skins/Mendip/Menus/PL.xml&DAURI=PLANNING

By TimothyL12 at 10:10 on 26/02/10
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Ah, that didn't really work did it! Here's the link to the planning search site anyway:

tinyurl.com/ycjqtwm

By TimothyL12 at 10:15 on 26/02/10
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Mystery solved, a nice man from the solicitors office of HM Treasury has explained all and its all the result of the district valuer marking the land as, of potential development.

So under a procedure called Bona Vacantia the treasury dept applied for and obtained planning permission for the plot (not a lot of resistance from the local council then, i wonder why).

Under Bona Vacantia the assets of dissolved companies can be claimed and disposed of by the crown. The original developer of Keward Walk falls into this category other land on the estate (Keward Walk) have been disclaimed as shared parts of the common estate.

So with the finances of HM Gov we can probably expect to see a little more of this

By grumpyoldgit2 at 19:52 on 15/03/10
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That's fascinating - I wonder where else will be snaffled up! I've actually had a look at the Treasury's website, and it seems that the estate belonging to a Frederick Fox, who died in Wells on December 3, 1999, is still to be claimed under Bona Vacantia. Can anyone shed any light on this?

By TimothyL12 at 20:05 on 15/03/10
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