4 February (Part 1) - Contract negotiation, Bexley style
You
will need a long memory or perhaps a gentle reminder for this one. Either take a look at look back at
a 15 month old blog or take my word for it that in October 2011, Bexley
council accepted a 2,280 signature petition from Slade Green residents
expressing their concerns about certain aspects of Bexley council’s plans for
the Howbury Centre which it had sold to Redrow Homes for new housing. The
petition persuaded Bexley council to change nothing. Petitioning against
foregone conclusions is never likely to achieve anything and this one
was no exception.
Some details of the £8·6 million Howbury scheme remain
available here (PDF file) but not all of them as the financial arrangements
were designated a council secret.
Last August
the BBC revealed Bexley council had been selling valuable land for next to nothing -
for a mere £600 an acre on average. Some went to Redrow Homes. Was there a
connection with the Howbury? It seemed more than likely.
After the negotiating the usual obstacle course, Bexley council was
persuaded to give this much away…
The council and Redrow entered into a sale contract which is conditional
upon a number of factors including the grant of planning permission. If the
conditions of the contract are not fulfilled then the contract will be null and
void and the council will continue to own the site.
That’s a good one don’t you think? Bexley ‘working for us’ council sells some
land to a developer for a knock down price and offers to take it back if the
council fails to come up with everything the buyer desires.
Where was the risk to Redrow in such a transaction? They acquired the rights to develop
a large parcel of prime residential land with the potential to make a fat profit
but in the absence of planning permission they can just walk away. Bexley
council however must chip in a £8·6 million sweetener
(schools and a community area) to seal the deal and ensure Redrow has plenty to
offer their 380 home buyers. Heads Redrow wins, tails Bexley council loses. Does
Bexley have to look so desperate when seeking development partners?
Bexley council has form for secretive financial dealing, those who attended the decision to
land/building swap with Tesco
will remember being chucked out the moment money was to be mentioned.
In a privately run company an arrangement that gives the seller little or no
return whilst the potential purchaser can walk away any time it pleases would be
laughed out of the boardroom. We pay more than a million a year to Bexley’s board
of directors for decisions like that.