Published: Wednesday, 20th August, 2008 12:30
Earl allays fears of schools funding crisis
By Iain Robertson
Comments (0)
Print Article
The Earl of Mar & Kellie expects the situation to be resolved in the near future.
FEARS that Clackmannanshire Council could be left with a multi-million pound black hole in its budget for the three new secondary schools have been allayed by the Earl of Mar & Kellie.
SNP councillors raised concerns at last week’s council meeting that the proposed sale of the existing Alloa Academy site could collapse due to an unresolved issue regarding the land deeds.
When the land was originally provided for the school by the present Earl’s father in 1958, a clause in the title deeds restricted its use to school, cultural or community purposes.
Without that condition being removed, the sale of the land to the preferred bidder – understood to be a house building company – would collapse, depriving the council of vital funds required to finance the PPP project to build the three new secondary schools.
But this week, the Earl told the Advertiser, “There is not much of a story here – I believe it will be resolved in the near future as the council are currently sorting out a couple of issues I have.”
At the council meeting, SNP councillors expressed concerns that this unresolved issue could threaten the whole deal and have serious implications for the council.
Councillor Gary Womersley said he was worried this problem would give the preferred bidder an excuse to walk away from the deal – especially in the current economic climate – leaving the council facing a major financial crisis.
Mr Womersley said, “This is a shocking state of affairs. One of our key concerns was whether or not any prospective purchasers were made aware of this condition, and there was no satisfactory answer. I feel this could potentially give the developer an opportunity to walk away.”
However, Labour councillors – and the local authority’s solicitor Andrew Wyse – remained confident the sale of the land would go ahead as planned.
Mr Wyse told the meeting, “We have a preferred bidder and there is no indication that they want to pull out or are the slightest bit worried about the situation.”
While attempts to negotiate with the Earl of Mar & Kellie will continue, a recommendation by Mr Wyse to apply to the Lands Tribunal to have the clause removed from the title deeds was approved, with the support of Labour councillors.
Mr Wyse explained to councillors that attempts to negotiate with the Earl had stalled, as the Earl’s solicitors had been instructed not to give the matter any attention until unrelated outstanding issues arising from the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway Project had been resolved.
Problems over the resurfacing and realignment of Hilton Farm Access Road had been resolved, but the Earl still had an outstanding claim regarding the illegal use by the railway’s main contractor, First Nuttal, of an estate road at Carsebridge and the need for it to be repaired.
In his report, Mr Wyse therefore stated, “It is thus impossible to assess when and if the Earl’s solicitors will even commence the negotiation for a waiver (to remove the clause in the title deeds) far less the timescale and likelihood of a satisfactory outcome.
“The council should therefore consider alternative action to achieve the desired remedy.”
He added that an application to the Lands Tribunal had a high prospect of success and that any compensation awarded by the Tribunal was likely to be “negligible”.
An SNP proposal that attempts should be made to negotiate a settlement with the Earl within the next four weeks before pursuing any other course of action failed to receive sufficient support.
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
Further Details
Mum in tears after vandals trash son's grave