UPDATE: “Land Bank” company ordered to pay £92K costs (From The Argus)

UPDATE: “Land Bank” company ordered to pay £92K costs

5:44pm Friday 20th January 2012 in News By Roy Pennington, community correspondent

The Council have confirmed that in the High Court case (won by Brighton and Hove Council Trading Standards against Towers Property Developments Ltd.) the Company has been ordered to pay legal costs of £92,000 within 4 months of the court approving the agreed order.

The Brighton and Hove Council took the company to the High Court because it was selling plots of agricultural as “low risk” investments when it is argued by the Council that it was a “high-risk” investment and the land was sold for up to 15 times its actual value and that it had little or no prospect of ever obtaining planning permission.

The sites in question were : (1) north of Ferring, known as Roundstone Heights just under 2 hectares, close to the popular Highdown Gardens and Millers Tomb on the A259 and Highdown Industrial Park; and (2) Belmont Views occupying 2.87 hectares east of Hastings between Barley Lane to the north and Rocklands Lane to the south.

In both cases, Towers Property Developments web-site describes the land as “ SOLD OUT”. The web-site has two other sites , both in Kent, Ashurst Grange (Tunbridge Wells) and Churchill Views (Hawkinge) and billed as a “Latest Investment Opportunity”.