Gen17

I have had discussions with the council who cannot discuss the compulsory purchase order but referred me to English Heritage. As you all know, the building is grade II listed and is on the heritage at risk register. An investigation into the feasibility of the CPO and subsequent handover to a heritage trust for the repairs was undertaken over the summer (2008) and the case aparently now rests with whether the goverment will fund the CPO. The only option allowable for the building is for it to be returned to residential use - be that as one household or convernsion into flats. Perhaps we should be writing to our local MP to stress the case for why the money should be made available??? But this land title bit still worries me. If the CPO would only get the house - it would have literally NO garden and all those lovely windows would look out onto a 6ft high fence surrounding the building, very close. Not very desirable to live in. I think we need to get to the bottom of that land seperation, whether the new building can be ordered to be demolished for breach of planning and whether the whole site could still be considered a whole for the CPO. Could that title/land seperation be deemed invalid due to the blatant breech of the planning approval. More work, me thinks...

Siduhe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Gen17, > > To answer your second question - the separation in > the registered title means that the Council would > only be granted a CPO over the original concrete > house, not the newer building behind it. I suspect > the reason for the separation in title is a bit > more prosaic - it would have been almost > impossible for the residents of the new building > to get a mortage if there were oustanding breaches > of covenant in the freehold in respect of the old > house (for example to keep it in good repair etc). > Splitting the title would have given the owner an > opportunity to free the new title from any > covenants which only relate to the old house (save > where these are for the benefit of the old house, > like right of access to do emergency works etc). The new seperated title deed refers to it as land not a house/flats (although there are four deeds for that plot that you can potentially buy for ?3 each, called flats 1-4 but when bought only list them as land). The last time the land resistry updated it was in 2000 though, before the flats were even constructed. But the craft buggers seperated the land then! It appears they were all sold to a Reg Laxman who I can only assume is Barballa Chandra's (owner of 549) business partner as they share the same mailing address in Croydon. The flats do not appear to have changed ownership since (checking rightmove for sale transactions), so I wonder if they are being let out? But I am shocked they are aloud to do that when the flats were clearly put up in breach the planning permission (which would only allow the flats if 549 was repaired and also made into habitable accomodation) and in my mind that makes them illegal. Perhaps they cannot sell them because of the breach of planning hanging over their heads? My real concern is this...if the council are successful with a CPO they want it reinstated to residential use. But the new site boundary runs about 1 meter around it so there would be no gardens and those lovely large windows will just look out onto a fence. If I have time this weekend I will scan the title map and post it so you can all see how drastic the split of the site really is. These men need taking to court!

I am a building surveying student and am doing a project on this house (my choice). This forum is a great source of info - thanks! I am looking at whether the current listing system has failed the house and what a conservation plan for the house should consist of should the CPO ever come off. 2 questions I'd like to put out there.... -Does anyone know if the newer structure that has been constructed is occupied? I have seen lights on and potted plants in the windows but I thought it didn't have proper planning permission? -Having bought a copy of the title deeds and plans from the land registry, I can see that the current owner has seperated the land and registered it under a different title number leaving the original house with nothing but the ground it stands on. Does that mean that if a CPO ever came off the council would just get the house, or would they also get the rest of it inclucing the newer structure? I think that the current owner perhaps saw a CPO coming and that's why he seperated the plot.