Land Trust can save assets

摘要

Sir, I have to point out a significant error regarding the Land Trust in your otherwise excellent Britain for Sale article (analysis, 21.04.11). You wrongly stated that the Homes and Communities Agency will have to pay the trust a monthly fee to manage the Greenwich Ecology Park and former Haig and Cronton collieries. This is simply not the case. The three sites were disposed to the trust with a commuted sum -when a series of payments is replaced by a single payment. This totally removes the need for any monthly fees to be paid, which have been paid for several years and would otherwise need to be paid in perpetuity. In the long term, this disposal will save the agency and the public money. The article implied that a land disposal with an ongoing monthly fee represents very poor value and it certainly would, if it were true.