UPPER TRIBUNAL (LANDS CHAMBER)

	
UT Neutral citation number: [2013] UKUT 0190 (LC)
UTLC Case Number: ACQ/5/2013
	
	TRIBUNALS, COURTS AND ENFORCEMENT ACT 2007

COMPENSATION – Compulsory purchase – unadopted road – untraceable owner – valuation of freehold interest – compensation determined at £1

	IN THE MATTER OF A NOTICE OF REFERENCE

BETWEEN	
	UNKNOWN OWNER	Claimant

	and

	SHEPWAY DISTRICT COUNCIL	Acquiring 		Authority

Re: Dunstall Lane
St Mary’s Bay
Romney Marsh
Kent
TN29 OQM

Determination on written representations

by
N J Rose FRICS	 

There are no cases referred to in this decision.

DECISION
1.	This is a reference by Shepway District Council, the acquiring authority, to determine the amount of compensation payable in respect of the compulsory purchase of an unadopted road known as Dunstall Lane, St Mary’s Bay, Romney Marsh, Kent TN29 OQW (the lane).  The lane was acquired under the District Council of Shepway (Land at Dunstall Road, St Mary’s Bay) Compulsory Purchase Order 2011 (the CPO).  The CPO was made on 25 July 2011 and confirmed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 30 January 2012.  A general vesting declaration was made on 13 September 2012 and the lane vested in the acquiring authority on 21 October 2012, which is the valuation date.  On 12 February 2013 the Tribunal ordered that the reference be determined without a hearing and I have considered the matter on the basis of the acquiring authority’s written submissions. 
2.	The acquiring authority tried to establish the ownership of the lane without success.  I have read the witness statement dated 10 January 2013 of Estelle Gulligan, the acquiring authority’s legal services manager, setting out the action taken in an attempt to identify the owner.  I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken in that regard.
3.	Mr M C Taylor FRICS of Taylor Riley, chartered surveyors of Ashford, Kent submitted an expert valuation report dated 20 December 2012, from which I find the following facts.  The lane is situated off the A259 Dymchurch Road between New Romney (3 miles) and Hythe (5 miles) on the coast in south east Kent.  The opposite side of the A259 abuts the sea wall with the beach beyond.  This coastal strip comprises developments of houses, bungalows and some small blocks of flats built over the past 80 years and is a popular location for retirement.  Beyond the developed coastal strip is Romney Marsh, which is given over to mixed arable and sheep farming.
4.	The lane is an unadopted road with a metal surface and no paving.  It has an area of 2,070m2 and a length of 152 metres and terminates at the entrance to the former St Mary’s Bay holiday centre.  The road serves 18 private residential properties on its south west boundary.  It adjoins the dyke known as Clobsden Sewer on its north east boundary, except for about 35 metres adjacent to the A259 where it abuts a triangular parcel of grassland.  The lane also serves Dunstall Gardens and Raymore Avenue and is part of a suburban area of similar properties and roads.
5.	Mr Taylor said that the lane generated no investment income and had no occupational value.  Its ownership was onerous because of the liability to maintain it, even though those with established rights over it might have an obligation to contribute to the costs of maintenance.  Accordingly, Mr Taylor thought that it had only a nominal existing use value (£1).  Mr Taylor also considered whether any additional value might be attributed to the lane to reflect the proposed residential development of the former holiday village site at the end of the lane, planning permission for which was subject to a condition that the roadway be made up to an adoptable standard and then adopted.  For this purpose he prepared a financial appraisal of the proposed development.  This showed that the scheme was not viable, largely because of the road improvement costs and the exceptional cost of piling the foundations and raising the ground level, the site being located in a designated flood risk area.
6.	Mr Taylor concluded that the freehold value of the lane was represented by its nominal existing use value.  In the absence of any other expert evidence I accept Mr Taylor’s opinion.  I determine the compensation payable for the freehold interest in Dunstall Lane, St Mary’s Bay to be £1.00.  I make no order for costs.

								Dated 22 April 2013

								N J Rose FRICS