Three fields for a new school? That'll be £4m please!

Wednesday 21 March 2018

The States are set to force through the sale of three fields to make way for the new Les Quennevais School after the landowner attempted to push up the sale price to around £4million – 20 times the States' original offer.

Warning that the sellers’ move could delay the opening of the new school by as much as a whole academic year, the States say that they might now resort to using the power of compulsory purchase to buy the three fields involved without the owner’s consent.

Minister for Infrastructure Deputy Eddie Noel described the move as “a last resort” because building a new school “is vital for the island.”

“Unfortunately, despite lengthy discussions and having agreed a fair and proper price with the owner, it has not been possible to conclude the transaction. This means the only option available is to acquire the land through compulsory purchase.”

A report on the matter by the Department for Infrastructure revealed that Chartered surveyors BNP Paribas surveyed the land that had to be purchased, and found it to be worth around £15,000 per vergée. After "protracted" negotiations, all landowners agreed to deals based on that valuation, and all sites - minus the three fields in contention - were acquired.

The owner of the fields in question raised concerns that the new build could lead to diminution in the value of their land, leading to an agreement for the owner to be paid £194,100 for the acquisition of the fields, and £58,900 to mitigate the drop in value of their remaining land.

Pictured: The sellers attempt to renegotiate the price could delay the opening of the new school, according to Deputy Anne Pryke.

But after taking legal advice, the field owner pushed for a new deal: £16 per square foot instead of £15,000 per vergée, which would have taken the total payable to around £4million.

They also made a request that only certain elements of the school be located on their land: the sports field, sports hall and wildlife area. They also applied for the sports field’s use to be restricted to no later than 21:30, and asked for no organised events to take place on the sports field on Sundays or Bank Holidays. 

But the States say that they have “no intention to renegotiate any of the terms that had previously been agreed and reached through a fair and transparent negotiating process.”

Planning permission for the St. Brelade-based secondary school, which will be built on a group of fields next to Rue Carrée and La Route de Quennevais, was granted back in October.

It was due to be opened in September 2020, but Assistant Education Minister Deputy Anne Pryke warned that the use of compulsory purchase would “inevitably” lead to delay up to as long as an entire academic year.

“[This] would be very disappointing for the staff and their students. We do however remain hopeful that the signed agreement with the landowner will be honoured so that we can keep to the original timetable.”