Offshore-based developer takes legal action against council in property dispute

A property developer based in the British Virgin Islands has issued proceedings to take Three Rivers District Council to judicial review over a property dispute.

The council wants to develop a former voluntary service centre as temporary accommodation for homeless families, which is disputed by the developer, which has not been named.

Chief executive Steven Halls said "The application for judicial review has been made by a property developer through an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

“The council are currently taking detailed legal advice, but the initial findings are that the council are in a strong position and should resist the review. 

“This legal move is purely on the basis of whether the council have complied with policies and procedures when making the decision, rather than the merits of the site. I am confident that we have done so, as on all planning applications that the council decides.”

The issue went to the Liberal Democrat-run council’s policy and resources committee last month, where the Conservative opposition unsuccessfully tried to halt the scheme, describing it as an “ill-conceived and poorly designed scheme which will significantly harm a local conservation area and nearby heritage assets and establishes socially unacceptable standards of accommodation for vulnerable members of our society”.

Councillors were told that families from Three Rivers were being accommodated outside the district, and temporary accommodation was urgently required.

The 17 units “would make excellent use of the site, save money for the council and give families a temporary home near to their families, jobs and local support networks”, a report for the committee said.

Leader Sara Bedford called the judicial review application “a last ditch attempt to try to prevent the council building much-needed accommodation on its own land".