Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that the Council, as part of the City Investment Strategy, had agreed to co-ordinate the acquisition of lands to enable the Connswater Community Greenway programme to proceed.  The Council would secure rights over the land needed for the Greenway and would be responsible for the management and maintenance of that land and any assets on it.  The Greenway would have to be accessible for forty years to comply with the Big Lottery Fund letter of offer, although the intention was to secure rights for longer if possible.  Subsequently, the Big Lottery Fund had agreed to the Council becoming the employer and authority had been granted by the Committee, at its meeting on 24th September, for the Chief Executive to sign the transfer agreement on the Council’s behalf.  The contract for the construction of the Greenway had been awarded to SIAC/Galliford Try and it was intended that the Council would become the employer and take ownership of the contract by November, 2010.

            The Director of Property and Projects reported that the first phase of construction would be from Cregagh Glen to Montgomery Road, with work programmed to commence on 1st December, 2010.  Under the terms of the contract, the Project Manager needed to be in a position to hand over the land within the extent of works for that section to the contractor on that date.

            It was reported that there were two areas of land which had been identified as being required to help complete the Greenway route and associated landscaping:

(i)   the first was an area of 2.54 acres of land at Cregagh Glen and Council officers had agreed to purchase the land from a Mrs. Rea at a cost of £14,115.  At this stage, Mrs. Rea’s solicitor had not been able to provide Legal Services with title to a portion of the lands and they would need to do further title checks prior to accepting a statutory declaration to the effect that Mrs. Rea and her predecessor in title had occupied the said lands to the exclusion of all others since 1920.

      Since there might not now be enough time before 1st December, 2010 to complete the conveyancing and put in place the statutory declaration, officers had proposed that the Council take a Licence to allow the contractor to access the land with effect from 1st December, 2010.  The Licence would terminate on formal completion of the acquisition of the land from Mrs. Rea; and

(ii)  an area of 0.534 acres of land at Glen Side, off the Upper Knockbreda Road.  Council officers had agreed to purchase that area of land from Castlereagh Borough Council for £8,010.  On checking the title it had become apparent that the developer of adjoining land had wrongly registered part of Castlereagh Borough Council’s land within the adjoining folio.  Both Parties had recognised the error and were taking steps to have the matter rectified, following which the land would be transferred to the Council for the Greenway.

As the rectification of title at Land Register could take some time, it was proposed that the Council take a Licence from Castlereagh Borough Council to allow the contractor to take possession of the site on or after 1st December, 2010 in order to commence work on the Greenway.  The Licence would terminate on form of completion of the acquisition of the land from Castlereagh Borough Council.

            The Director of Property and projects explained that the Project Manager intended to hand the remainder of the land required for the Greenway to the contractor in accordance with the following Programme of Works:

Phase 2 – Montgomery Road to Beersbridge Road – on 1st June, 2011;

Phase 3 and 4 – Glen Road to Dixon Park and Beersbridge Road to Sydenham Bypass - on 1st April, 2012; and

Phase 5 – Victoria Park – on 1st February, 2013. 

He explained that the land assembly for Phases 2 to 5 was progressing well and it was intended that all acquisitions of land would be placed before the commencement of Phase 2.

            After discussion, the Committee granted approval for:

(i)   the purchase of 2.54 acres of land from Mrs. Rea for £14,115 and to the taking out of a Licence for the land; and

(ii)  the purchase of 0.534 acres of land from Castlereagh Borough Council at a cost of £8,010 and to the taking out of a Licence for the aforementioned land.