Land disposals at undervalues since 2003
Dear Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council,
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the Council's land and property disposals at undervalues, if any.
Please provide the following information:
1. The number of land or property disposals that have taken place since 2003 at an undervalue (less than market rate or best consideration).
2. A list of the disposals including: the sites in question, amount of undervalue, and the name of the party receiving the undervalued site.
3. If specific consent was sought from the Secretary of State regarding the undervalue of any of the sites, documentation of this application. Or, if consent was not applied for, an explanation as to why.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Yours faithfully,
Mollie Zhang
Thank you for your e-mail, requesting that certain information is made available to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Environmental Information Regulations 2004. The Council has now started to process your request.
The Council always aims to disclose information as quickly as possible. However, if for some reason we cannot complete your request within 20 working days (ie by 22/06/2023) we will write to you again before that date to explain why and to let you know when you will receive the information. Please remember that documents sent by post may take few extra days to reach you.
The Council will normally disclose all the information which you have requested unless there is a good reason for not doing so. If any information will not be disclosed because it is exempt, we will write to you and explain why. Please note that, whilst the Council will disclose documents which already exist and which contain the information which you have requested, the Council is not required to compile documents specifically to deal with your request.
Once the information has been identified, the Council can also ask that you pay a fee to cover the costs of any printing, photocopying, postage, etc., for processing and delivering the information to you. Details of any fee to be paid will be notified to you as soon as possible.
Please quote the reference number 23/361 in any future correspondence about this request.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, then you may ask the Council to conduct an internal review of your case by writing to the Council’s FOI Team ([Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council request email]). If you are still not content after the Council has conducted an internal review of your case, then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by the Borough Council.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted in writing at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Please quote the reference number at the top of this email in any future correspondence about this request.
Adrian Stanfield
Freedom of Information Co-Ordinator
website: www.tmbc.gov.uk
Dear Mollie
Further to your request for information below, I can respond as follows:
1) The value of a property or piece of land will be dependent on a number of factors including site constraints, planning policy considerations, restrictions on use to name but a few. In 2018 the Council disposed of a site for use as a medial centre. For a medical centre use the site was sold for the market value. If the site had been developed for housing the market value would have been higher.
2) Site at River Lawn Road, Tonbridge, Kent. The site was sold to Assura HC Ltd. The difference in value between a medical centre use and residential use was assessed in April 2015 as being £771,000.
3) Consent was not required from the Secretary of State as under the Local Government Act 1972 General Disposal Consent 2003 consent is not required where an authority considers the disposal of any interest in land is likely to contribute to the promotion or improvement of the economic, social or environmental well-being of its area, provided the amount of undervalue of the relevant transaction dies not exceed £2m. In this instance the Council considered the provision of a new medical centre would likely contribute to the promotion or improvement of the social well-being of the area.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, then you may ask the Council to conduct an internal review of your case by writing to the Council’s FOI Team ([Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council request email]). If you are still not content after the Council has conducted an internal review of your case, then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by the Borough Council.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted in writing at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Please quote the reference number at the top of this email in any future correspondence about this request.
Kind regards
Stuart
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