4:20pm Friday 27th August 2010
By Matt Smith
A HOUSEBUILDING giant is facing the loss of a nine-acre plot of land after Southampton City Council confirmed a compulsory purchase order (CPO).
Council chiefs want to stop Bovis Homes building on the former Civil Service Sports Ground in Civil Service Sports Ground Shirley.
The council has confirmed an order to allow it to acquire the fields after years of talks failed to persuade Bovis to sell.
It is using the Education Act to snap up the overgrown plot between Malmesbury Road and Suffolk Avenue for school playing fields amid a shortage in the city.
Bovis bought the site in 2005 from the Civil Service Sports Council and added it to its so-called land bank, but has not applied for any planning permission.
More than 1,000 people signed a petition during a campaign to save the land from developers.
Councillor Jeremy Moulton, Cabinet member for resources, said: “Southampton City Council has been working with residents for eight years to make sure this land remains available for community use and as a school playing field.
“Residents have long argued that this land should be available for everyone to enjoy and we have a duty to provide quality outdoor space for pupils.
“We have taken a significant step towards securing this land for the community but there is still a way to go before the process is complete.”
Bovis, which already allows nearby St Mark’s Junior School to use part of the site for its PE lessons, has six weeks in which to challenge the order.
The builder, which this week returned to profit with a £3.5m surplus for the six months to June 30 following losses of £8.6m a year earlier, will be entitled to compensation if the land is transferred to the council.
A Bovis Homes spokesman said: “I can confirm we remain in discussions with Southampton City Council regarding the CPO action.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/trade_directory/