Client: Bradford Metropolitan District Council
In recent years, Bradford city centre has been losing shoppers to competing areas such as Leeds city centre and the White Rose Centre. To reverse this trend, Bradford Metropolitan District Council identified a regeneration site in the city centre for a new 500,000 sq ft shopping centre.
The site area totalled 16 acres and comprised 1960’s office and retail facilities, and there were some 40 property interests to be acquired. A mixture of property companies, institutional investors, national retailers (including BHS, Mothercare and WHSmith) and local traders held the properties on a variety of tenures. We were appointed by the Council and the developer, Westfield, to solve a range of compensation and compulsory purchase issues that arose.
The solution
We were instructed at a very early stage, before the CPO was made, to:
- advise on compulsory purchase strategy and process, alongside the clients’ solicitor
- provide initial estimates of compensation, which required a valuation of property interests and business disturbance
- assess the risk of blight notices being served
- negotiate and settle claims for the majority of interests
The latter included a recent Lands Tribunal case brought against the Council/Westfield by the long leasehold owner of a large block of retail properties. The claimant was seeking compensation for the land acquired, together with loss of rent and exposure to empty rates. It claimed that the CPO, coupled with uncertainty and delays associated with the proposed development, had blighted the area.
We argued that the long-term decline of the area, rather than the proposed scheme, had created the ongoing rental inertia. Much of the case rested on the interpretation of available rental values and yield evidence and whether, as the owner claimed, an alternative scheme could come forward without the need for a CPO. The Tribunal accepted our argument and awarded £9m in compensation – within 5% of our valuation – compared with the £15.24m sought.
The results
The level of compensation paid by our client was fair, with only one claim reverting to the Lands Tribunal for determination. Demolition works have been completed and commencement on site is now imminent.
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