English Partnerships is seeking to reassure housebuilders that powers allowing it to cherry pick surplus public sector land will, in fact, offer greater clarity to potential private sector bidders.
It comes after housebuilder Wilson Bowden spoke out over the Ministry of Defence sale of a former RAF Staff College site in Bracknell.
Wilson Bowden and others prepared bids in the belief that they were bidding on the open market. But the land, which has outline consent for 730 homes, was ultimately sold to EP.
“It’s an irritation to have got a bid together, only to find that the shape of the deal had changed and we weren’t made aware of it,” said chief executive Ian Robertson. He said he had taken some comfort from a meeting with EP this week.
EP said that, under new government arrangements, public sector bodies will have an exclusive opportunity to buy surplus public sector land before it is placed on the open market.
However, the scuffle highlights growing industry concern over EP’s new strategic role as a developer, outlined in the government’s Communities Plan last February.
It has three major sites under offer and is seeking private sector partners to build as many as 3,000 homes.
John Island, Wilson Connolly’s director for special projects, said: “It is very worrying. They [EP] seem to be bidding on more and more sites, and they can bid big money.
“EP has always tried to make a profit off the back of land, but it used to be based upon enabling derelict sites which would not otherwise come to the market.”
But Graeme Dodds, managing director of George Wimpey central London, said: “EP’s new powers seem to be above board. They are annoying but the government has granted them, so we are looking to form strategic alliances with EP.”
References: EGi News 16/02/04
