My first motion at yesterdays (15th June) MD meeting That the council provide a copy of the instruction it references when it stated to RTE that it instructed its valuer to not include the ransom strip value of the public land at Athgarvan, clarifying whether the following brief provided to the council’s valuer is the instruction it is referencing:
The Valuation should provide for the following elements:
The cost of the new road that KCC have to build (circa €115k) This is included in our contract so we can’t let the owners build this for us.
The Value of KCC’s 8 units that we have now lost as a result of the developer’s development. I’ve attached the original site map which shows the eight units.
The Value attached to the fact that the developer could not develop his site without KCC’s access to the site.
The value attached to the KCC element now included in the developer’s planning permission (3 sites)
Here is the report issued by: Ms A Aspell, Director of Services, Housing and Corporate Services : The following is an extract from the response to RTE on foot of their request for information from Kildare County Council in advance of the RTE Investigates programme as referenced in Councillor McLoughlin Healy’s motion:
“Reference to “Ransom Strip”
Chapter 17 of Kildare County Council’s County Development Plan 2017-2023 ref 17.2.8 relates to access to land and states “Development should be designed in such fashion that it will not prejudice the provision of vehicular or pedestrian access, or key infrastructural services in adjoining lands. Development should also be designed so as to ensure “ransom strips” will not inhibit future development”. Having regard to this section of the Development Plan, the valuation of the land as sought by Kildare County Council, did not have regard to a potential ransom strip and was valued accordingly.
The land, having been zoned for residential development on foot of a decision of the elected members of Kildare County Council, and having the benefit of a grant of planning permission [Pl Ref 19/117 and 19/118 refers] and the council being the owner of a means of providing “vehicular or pedestrian access, or key infrastructural services” to these adjoining lands could not regard the land in sale, or any right to use any future road which provides access to the development lands, as representing a ransom strip in direct conflict with a provision in the Kildare County Development Plan 2017-2023.”
A copy of the written instruction to the valuer, in relation to the valuation of these lands, is attached for the information of the elected members and is referenced in the councillor’s motion. The written instruction to value the land was communicated by the former Administrative Officer in the Housing Department at the request of the Senior Architect. Section 17.2.8 of the County Development Plan was discussed with the valuer by the Senior Architect after the brief was issued to the valuer and before the valuation was prepared and issued to the council.
The rationale for not valuing the land having regard to ransom strip value is not based on instruction to the valuer, it is based on the fact that it would be contrary to an objective of the current County Development Plan.