That (A) the land comprising
the property identified in the report submitted, be acquired by
East Herts Council either with the voluntarily agreement of the
owner or through a compulsory purchase process, with the purchase
not proceeding only if the owner makes arrangements, to the
Council’s satisfaction, prior to acquisition for the property
to return it to residential use, such that the full costs can be
met from (i) onward disposal of the
property, (ii) reimbursement from the sub-regional PLACE (Private
Lease Agreements for Converting Empties) programme and (iii)
existing budgets, with any future need to allocate additional
resources subject to future Member approval;
(B) should a voluntary agreement to purchase the
property be made, authority be delegated to the Property Manager,
acting in consultation with the Head of Housing & Health, to
carry out the necessary processes to acquire the property for an
acceptable consideration;
(C) should compulsory purchase be required:
(a) authority be delegated to the Head of Housing & Health to
make a compulsory purchase order to be known as the District
Council of East Hertfordshire (Property X [address to be given in
the order], Bishop’s Stortford) Compulsory Purchase Order,
under Section 17 of the Housing Act 1985 in respect of the land and
property indicated on a map marked with the name of the Compulsory
Purchase Order;
(b) arrangements be made for the common seal of the Council to be
affixed to the necessary documents;
(c) authority be delegated to the Head of Housing & Health in
consultation with the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to make
an application to the Secretary of State for confirmation of the
Order;
(d) authority be delegated to the Head of Housing & Health in
consultation with the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to
confirm the Order following the passing of this responsibility from
the Secretary of State;
(e) authority be delegated to the Head of Legal and Democratic
Services to prepare for a Public Inquiry and defend the Order
should objections be made and the matter requires a public inquiry
to proceed;
(f)
authority be delegated to the Property Manager,
acting in consultation with the Head of Housing & Health, to
acquire the necessary interests in the land and property included
in the confirmed compulsory purchase order by means of a general
vesting declaration, for an acceptable consideration or on terms
ordered by the Lands Tribunal; and
(D) the property, if acquired, be sold on in the open market as soon as practicable and to enable this, the Property Manager be required to (a) arrange for such essential works to the property while it is in the Council’s possession so as to deal with any immediate issues of safety and security, (b) abate environmental nuisances, (c) prepare the property for marketing and (d) dispose of the freehold interest in the property, on the open market, by most suitable method to achieve best consideration on terms and conditions to be agreed with the Head of Strategic Finance.