Amenity Land Sales Policy Update 2023
North Lanarkshire Council · 24 May 2023
Back to Finance and Resources Committee — 24 May 2023 and its agenda
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref IM/SD/PF Date 24/05/23 Amenity Land Sales Policy Update 2023 From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail Martini@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Ian Martin 07966 397637 1. Background 1.1 A previous report relating to a review of processes and practices for Amenity Land Sales was approved by the Policy and Resources (Property) Sub-Committee in November 2010. This report included a review of the pricing structure and fees and became effective on 1st January 2011. 1.2 A further report titled “Asset Management Plan – Amenity Land Sales Policy 2011” which set out an updated policy incorporating the revised fees and pricing structure was approved at the Policy and Resources (Property) Sub-Committee in April 2011. Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to advise committee of proposed changes to the Amenity Land Sales Policy together with the applicable sales rates and to seek approval for the updated Policy. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledges the contents of this report. (2) Adopts the Policy “Amenity Land Sales”. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (4) Market and promote North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit
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1.2 Recognising the passage of time and the effect of inflation, it is proposed that we review our current practices for disposing of small areas of ground for the purpose of additional garden extensions referred to in the Report as “Amenity Land”. 1.3 The term “Amenity Land” includes the provision of ground for extensions to gardens, garages and driveways but excludes new separate dwellings. 1.4 The Review will include a revised pricing structure for the sale of Amenity Land in North Lanarkshire and a summary of the main changes are noted in Section 2 below. 2. Summary of main changes to Policy Document 2.1 The number relates to the corresponding Sections within the Policy document: 3.6 New paragraph explaining why the council requires a Standard Security where necessary. 3.7 New paragraph regarding flatted developments. 3.8 Applications for land which more naturally sits with neighbouring properties. 4.2 Estates team added to list of consultees. 5. Revised pricing framework for land value rates and fees (detailed below). 5.5 New paragraph on pricing and policy for servitude/common path amendments and delegated authority. 5.7 Land values to be reviewed annually reflecting the higher of Retail Price and Consumer Price Indices and applied to new applications received from 1st April each year. 5.8 New paragraph clarifying that where an application is refused, further applications for the same or similar land will not be accepted for a period of three years. 6.2 New paragraph regarding applications where an owner or resident has a disability meriting a sale at a nominal sum. Head of Property Services is now Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) throughout the document. 2.2 Pricing 2.2.1 Existing Pricing With effect from 1 January 2011, the Council’s pricing policy for the sale of small areas of Amenity Land has been based on council tax banding. The current levels are noted in table 1 below.
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Table 1 Council Tax Band Rate per square metre A-C £20 D £30 E-G £40 2.2.2 Estates consulted several other councils about their pricing structure. Of the 7 councils who responded, most are charging between £10 per square metre and £55 per square metre for Amenity Land. It should be noted that most councils charge considerably more for extensions, driveways, garages etc. whilst some have these valued separately by their Estates Department. Many of the councils consulted advised that their prices have not been reviewed for several years and that they would be interested in the findings of our consultations. NLC prices for the proposed revised pricing includes extensions, driveways, garages etc. To simplify the process and negate the need for a valuation to be undertaken, we propose the figures outlined below in table 2 reflecting most proposed uses but expressly excluding a separate dwelling(s). The current minimum charge for all “Amenity Land” is £500 regardless of the area of land to be sold. The use of council tax banding has worked well and will be retained. 2.2.3 Proposed Pricing New levels proposed as part of this policy update reflect a 50% increase on existing values per table 2 below, which is less than the 52% annual Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation rate since January 2011. Table 2 Council Tax Band Rate per square metre A-C £30 D £45 E+ £60 2.2.4 The rates in table 2 will be applied to the area of land to be sold. To prevent the value of the revenue generated from Amenity Land sales being eroded by inflation, land sale rates will be reviewed annually by index linking to the higher of Retail Price Index (RPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures with the resultant revised rates becoming effective 1st April each year. The revised rates will be rounded upwards to the nearest pound rather than adopt pound and pence figures and will apply to new applications received from 1st April each year (excepting 2023 when the new rates will become effective 1st July).
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In addition, delegated authority to sell Amenity Land at these rates is granted to the Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement). The level of charges will be reviewed again in future as part of the ongoing schedule of policy reviews. The current £500 minimum charge will become £1,000 to reflect the rise in land values since the existing rates were set in January 2011 and to offset the inflationary erosion upon the value of money since then. 2.3 Applicants are responsible for the Council’s fees in connection with their application, the current charges from the 2011 policy are noted in table 3 below. Table 3 Fee Element Current Charge Legal Fees £330 Surveying & Administration Fee £275 Planning fee for change of use Statutory charge The new proposed fees as part of the proposed policy update are as follows: - Table 4 Fee Element Reviewed Charge Legal Fees From £330 however, can vary depending on complexities of individual cases Surveying & Administration Fee £450 + VAT Planning fee for change of use Statutory charge The Surveying and Administration Fee increase reflects the significant resource costs to the Council of administering the application process and the potential for further complexities to arise. The Council’s Surveying and Administration Fee includes the cost of surveying and preparing a suitable disposal plan. 2.4 Where a sale is not intended to be progressed in accordance with the pricing arrangements noted above, the case will require to be reported to the Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) in the form of a delegated authority report. The report should detail why any variation from the standard pricing is being recommended. 2.5 Where a servitude route/right of access is to be amended on property titles, the pricing for this service starts at £1,000 whilst the Surveying & Administration Fee and legal fee will be borne by the owner/applicant wishing to make the change. The owner/applicant will further be liable for NLC’s legal costs incurred to amend the relevant property titles as required. A delegated authority report will be prepared with recommendations for the Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) in such cases.
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2.6 From time to time the Estates team receives applications to purchase additional ground from the Council for garden purposes where an owner or resident of a property would potentially benefit from the ground to support an enhanced standard of living, or an adaptation to the property because of additional needs as a result of disability. In such instances, where they can provide suitable documentary evidence of the disability to the Estates team, it is proposed that the sale of ground should be assessed at a nominal value of £1 subject to the Council’s Surveying and Administration fees being met by applicants. 2.7 Implementation Date Current, ongoing cases and new applications received until 31 May 2023, will attract the current land rates and fees. The new policy will become effective 1st July 2023 to provide a clear cut off date for the existing arrangements. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The proposed changes will increase the revenue received by the Council from the sale of Amenity Land and will further offset the increased cost of the resources required to service the applications. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – Amenity Land Sales - 2023 JAMES MCKINSTRY Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement)
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The proposed changes sale will generate extra revenue for the Council. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Council will increase the rates at which Amenity Land can be sold for. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐
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If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services.
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Appendix 1 – Amenity Land Sales – 2023
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