The States-owned asset at Fort Doyle has been purchased by TaiMing Ltd, which is registered at Beaucette Marina, for £535,000.
Vale deputy Neil Inder had previously expressed concerns about how the sale had been handled and he has now formalised that through a series of written questions.
‘As far as I can ascertain, the States’ Trading Supervisory Board had an unsolicited approach by a neighbour to purchase the uninhabited property,’ he said.
‘The place was valued and the new owner paid above the valuation.
‘Although I might understand some of the rationale for the sale of the property, I’m not convinced the offloading of the site passed the independent observer test for what is a landmark building.
‘There should have been, possibly not an auction, but certainly an invitation to all islanders to express an interest.’
His main concern was the lack of transparency.
‘I don’t think this is the way we should be disposing of public assets,’ he said.
Deputy Inder wants the STSB to explain its policy and process in terms of marketing and selling off property, the last three assets disposed of by the States and how they were marketed for sale, assets that are currently under consideration for disposal and details of any instances where members of the public have approached the STSB or Property Services directly with a view to purchasing States-owned assets.
Specifically in reference to Platte Fougere, he wants to know when the STSB first became aware of an approach by an individual, what policy process came into play and who signed off the decision to dispose of the property.
After being asked for comment on the sale recently, STSB president Deputy Charles Parkinson, who is chairman of its property sub-committee, said the private sale was deemed the best option.
It had been deemed surplus to requirements, and he said the sale was complicated due to the lack of any clear legal right of access or to provide services.
Before receiving an approach from a third party who was keen to acquire the property, Property Services had ‘deemed the sale route to be unlikely’ and had resolved to invest £200,000 returning it to a suitable condition to rent out instead.
Deputy Inder questioned the process involved here.
‘How could the STSB dispose of a property where the title was unclear?
‘What was the difference in regards to access to the Platte Fougere lighthouse station and store which is any different to numerous homes and properties on or around L’Ancresse Common?’
In addition to these and other enquiries, Deputy Inder wants to know if Deputy Parkinson considers the sale process to have passed the ‘independent observer’ test in terms of transparency.
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