Elba Ground Rent Campaign
Update - 14th July 2014
Today, a small delegation from the Action Group met with representatives of the City & County of Swansea to discuss the way forward in the dispute arising from the proposed ground rent review for properties on the Elba estate.
Present from the Action Group were Nick Llewelyn (Chair), Sue Poole, James Gwyther and Richard Edwards.
Present from the City & County of Swansea were Christine Richards (Deputy Leader), Rob Stewart (Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources) and David Turner (Officer - Strategic Estates Department).
Also present as an observer was Councillor Sue Jones in her capacity as local councillor for the Gowerton ward.
The meeting was extremely constructive and allowed the delegation from the Action Group to highlight the key issues for residents on the estate. This non-exhaustive list was presented as follows:-
1. The amount of the revised annual ground rent from 1st April 2014 onwards.
2. The ability for those leaseholders so inclined, to purchase their freehold at a reasonable and fair amount.
3. How to deal with future ground rent reviews such that this problem does not reoccur in a further 25 years’ time.
4. The availability of any subsequent agreed varied terms to all leaseholders, including those whose ground rent has been fixed.
5. The option to extend the term of a lease for those who wish to do so.
The representatives from the City & County of Swansea acknowledged these issues and recognised that they were likely to form the basis for the subsequent negotiations to explore the possibility of an amicable resolution to the dispute.
The delegation from the Action Group also emphasised the anxiety and distress which the revised ground rent figures had caused affected residents and the importance of seeking a prompt resolution to the dispute.
The representatives from the City & County of Swansea acknowledged these points too and confirmed that they would be drawing up a report for presentation to Cabinet at the next Cabinet meeting on the 9th August 2014. Unfortunately, it would not be possible for the matter to be considered any earlier by Cabinet as they were constrained by the existing schedule.
At the Cabinet meeting on the 9th August, Cabinet would be asked to approve a negotiating position for the City & County of Swansea. If approved, they would then be in a position to enter into negotiations with the Action Group on behalf of the residents.
If Cabinet did approve a negotiating position on the 9th August it was hoped that a further meeting could be arranged to take the negotiations forward within 14 days of that date.Thereafter there would need to be a period of time allowed for such negotiations to be explored.
In the event that such negotiations were unsuccessful in settling the dispute, it would then need to be referred for independent arbitration as per the terms of the leases.
However, all present recognised the wisdom of achieving a negotiated resolution if such could reasonably be achieved.
A line of communication was also agreed for the future - Nicholas Llewelyn and Sue Poole for the Action Group and David Turner and Geoff Bacon (both officers in the Strategic Estates Department) for the City of County of Swansea. This should help the flow of information between the two parties in a coherent and consistent way.
Mr Turner did point out at the meeting that a letter would be coming out to residents imminently providing further detail as to how the revised ground rent figures had been calculated. This is merely to assist residents in understanding the approach taken by the City & County of Swansea and is not meant to be seen as argumentative or a sign that they are not committed to exploring the possibility of a negotiated compromise.
Overall, the meeting was a positive first step in the process.
The Action Group will continue to update affected residents as to further progress. There is however unlikely to be significant movement in the negotiations until after the Cabinet meeting on the 9th August.
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