LA rapped for 4-year negotiations for land purchase it could never complete

The Local Government Ombudsman has slammed a local authority for “serious failures” in its handling of a town centre regeneration scheme.

An investigation by the LGO, Dr Jane Martin, found that Wolverhampton City Council had spent four years negotiating with a businesswoman for the purchase of properties she and her partner owned on a town centre high street.

This was even though it was “never in a position to complete a purchase even if a price had been agreed at the outset”, Dr Martin said.

The businesswoman complained to the Ombudsman over Wolverhampton’s handling of the regeneration scheme. The properties in question comprised one with a trading business and two that were derelict.

The intention was to demolish the buildings to make way for a pedestrian link between the town centre and an urban village forming part of the scheme.

The complainant claimed that Wolverhampton’s approach had caused her uncertainty over the future and had led to her incurring unnecessary costs.

In her report Dr Martin accused the council of failures in its project management. She said there was:

  • “no timetable to ensure it moved to compulsory purchase of the affected properties;
  • no legal agreement to ensure funding was ring-fenced for the purchases;
  • no adequate accounting system in place when spending on other aspects of the scheme overran; and
  • insufficient funding available to purchase the properties in any event.”

The LGO also attacked Wolverhampton for what she described as “a remarkable lack of candour” in its communications with the complainant.

“It unfairly sought to blame all delays in this case on her own actions and those of the local regeneration agency,” the Ombudsman said.

In response to the LGO’s findings, Wolverhampton has agreed to apologise to the complainant for the injustice caused and pay her £1,000 compensation (in addition to that already paid, which included professional costs).

The Ombudsman said the council would also continue to liaise with her office so that, "within three months of the report’s publication, it is clear what measures have been put in place" to:

  • oversee the ongoing project management of the urban village link (“clarifying the ongoing role of both officers and members in this process”);
  • secure funding for the purchases of the urban village link;
  • confirm timescales for voluntary purchase and – if necessary – compulsory purchase of the properties forming the urban village link, and
  • keep the complainant informed about the progress of the proposed regeneration.

Philip Hoult