Council to pay over £1m for tiny strip of land at roundabout

Aug 28 2008 by John Rowbotham, Hamilton Advertiser

THE bill for a small piece of ground required for a vital Hamilton road scheme this week reached more than £1m.

That’s how much South Lanarkshire Council will have to pay for a patch of land at the corner of Muir Street and the Furlongs.

Council bosses compulsorily purchased the ground in May 2006.

It was the site of the former HSS plant hire showroom, next to Kenneth Wilson (Motors) Ltd.

They needed part of the land for the £1.4m project to improve the roundabout at the junction of Muir Street, Almada Street, Bothwell Road and the Furlongs.

Councillors in December agreed to pay HSS almost £847,000 compensation for the loss of the business.

HSS leased the premises from Kenneth Wilson (Motors).

Members of the council’s executive committee were told yesterday (Wednesday) that Wilson’s, who had a garage and car repairs business on the site, were also entitled to compensation for loss of both the building and rental income.

Wilson’s plan to sell the garage site for housing and have agreed a price with a developer.

Council enterprise director Iain Urquhart told members that, following negotiations, they had reached a settlement with Kenneth Wilson.

The land not required by the council would be returned to them plus a reduced compensation payment of £210,000, £5000 for fees and expenses and VAT.

Mr Urquhart said: “The road improvement scheme required only part of the land occupied by the former HSS property, but the council was obliged to acquire the entire site.

“The area not required for road improvements is consequently surplus to the council’s requirements.”

Work to improve the Almada Street roundabout is well underway and is expected to be completed by November.

A council spokesman said: “The actual acquisition and compensation payments we have made are standard practice in a scheme such as this.

“We anticipate the improvements at Almada St roundabout will significantly help the flow of traffic in and around Hamilton town centre and beyond.”

Both the nearby former Holy Cross High School site and the garage land have outline planning consent for new homes.

Barratt, who want to develop the Holy Cross site, have lodged a detailed planning application that is still the subject of further discussions between the company and planners.

No detailed application has yet been lodged for Wilson’s garage site.