Land in Bristol

[bigjim]

A strange reference found on the internet to a possible Compulsory Purchase Order in Bristol has unearthed some fascinating information on two vacant sites owned by SSOB - a site on Narrow Quay held on a lease from Bristol City Council dated 23/04/1925 at a fixed rent of ?20pa until - wait for it - 13/10/3925! (That's the longest lease I've ever heard of). Plus another freehold site of the former Seamans Chapel at Royal Oak Ave and Prince Street held in the name of an SSOB subsidiary called Island Trustees (SW) Ltd.

It seems like the citizens of Bristol got fed up looking at these two eyesore sites round about 1999 and started some tetchy correspondence with SSOB as to exactly when they proposed to do something with the land. It seems that a response was a long time coming, but eventually in reply to a threat of a CPO, SSOB said they would only negotiate if Bristol City Council sold them the freehold of 19-20 King Street (The King William Ale House). The council said no - and SSOB got very upset at the negative local publicity. The CPO would be fought of course - so I wonder what happened? Did Bristol City Council 'bottle out' in the end?

[bigjim]

Now here's a strange thing - all the council documents referring to land owned by SSOB in Bristol and a possible compulsory purchase order - have mysteriously disappeared and are no longer accessible on the council website. In fact all searches for any reference at all to the issue returns 'no match found'. It's as if I dreamt the whole thing! - I wonder what might have triggered their disappearance?

One document located on web  not through BCC website :-

  http://www.bristol.gov.uk/committee/2005/ua/ua000/0707_12.pdf 

[radioham]

Maybe a request under the "Freedom of Information Act" to the Council could reveal something interesting.

[bigjim]

I think this is worth following up, not least because the two sites are clearly 'blighting' key Bristol city centre regeneration areas - the Narrow Quay in particular being on the waterside and adjacent to recently refurbished listed buildings. From the tone of BCC documents they are seriously fed up with SSOB and his refusal to co-operate - but all seems to have gone quiet recently - legal action no doubt! The stalemate seems to be connected to BCC's refusal to sell Humphrey the freehold of the King William Ale House.

There is clearly a story here because as far back as 1989 SSOB put in a planning application for a dutch gable style warehouse pub - in effect a replica of the building that once stood there. They withdrew the application though and effectively 'took their bat home'. As we all know - they move in their very particular strange way up there in Taddy Towers and especially if Humphrey can't get his own way.