HOWARD DAVIS FARM
TRINITY
PROPOSED ABROGATION OF COVENANT (JERSEY) LAW 200-
REPORT
Introduction
Members will recall that in January 2007 the States Assembly approved P170/2006 “Howard Davis Farm (Partial Abrogation of Covenant) (Jersey) Law 2007” (registered 22/06/07) to permit part of the site to be used for the proposed new dairy. P170 was approved by 45 votes to nil against, with one abstention.
The intention of that particular debate was to facilitate the relocation of the Jersey Dairy to Howard Davis Farm. It was always recognised, and indeed was noted as part of the report accompanying the proposition that many of the other uses taking place on the site fell outside of the original terms of the gift and would need to be regularised in due course.
It has never been considered acceptable for the States to accept a gift of this nature and then to simply pass a law revising the conditions relating to the charitable purposes of the gift and use the site for other, non-charitable, purposes with no further reference to the purpose for which the gift was given.
As part of the original abrogation, it was agreed by the States that the proceeds arising from the rent of the dairy site would be transferred into a separate fund or trust (“the Trust”) which would then fulfil the terms of the original gift, slightly widened to include (for example) environmental and horticultural uses as well as the original intention of agriculture.
The proposed Law sets out to regularise the remaining existing uses on the site, and at the same time stipulates the calculation of monies to be transferred into the Trust following the principles established under P170.
For administrative convenience this Law regularises the current uses together with the previously approved Dairy use (as approved under P170) and also revokes the original Howard Davis Farm (Partial Abrogation of Covenant) (Jersey) Law 2007.
Background
Members will recall from the 2007 debate the generosity of Thomas Benjamin Frederick Davis and the many gifts he made to the Island. It is the view of the Minister that it continues to be essential to honour and recognize the importance of T.B. Davis as an extremely generous benefactor to the people of Jersey, and to retain the tributes to the memory of his son Howard who served with distinction and died in service for his country and the freedom of future generations.
Parkfield (later to be named Howard Davis Farm), amounting to the house, farm buildings and 40 vergées of land, was gifted to the Public of the Island by T.B. Davis and accepted by the Act of the States on the 17th December 1927. A covenant attached to the gifting imposed certain conditions as to the use of the land and buildings (the Covenant). It was one of four separate corpus-fundi transferred by Mr. Davis to the Public of the Island in perpetuity and gifted for –
“the purpose of establishing there, under the administration of the Committee of Agriculture of the States, an experimental farm for developing the study of agriculture and for instructing in that science young people and other interested parties”
With the decline in Island agriculture and the associated need for research and training within the industry, only a small percentage of the uses now currently fall within the permitted terms of the Covenant.
Regularisation of Current Uses
The Law proposes a relaxation of the Covenant to permit (and regularise) the uses presently taking place on the site. This is achieved by defining those uses in the Schedule to the Law. The Schedule can only be amended in the future by a separate proposition brought to the States Assembly.
The Schedule to the proposed Law sets out the existing principle uses currently operating at Howard Davis Farm and in addition certain ancillary approved uses.
The aim is to permit the present uses of the site; to provide a degree of flexibility in how those uses are permitted to operate in the future; but to ensure that any significant change away from present envisaged uses would be required to be brought back to the States Assembly for further approval.
This has been achieved by restricting many of the uses by area. For example warehousing would be permitted up to 60,000 sq feet. As a guide, the existing site represents 40 vergées of land (being approximately 18 acres or 774,000 square feet), of which the presently developed area (including the proposed dairy site, warehouses / storage sheds, glass houses, poly-tunnels, accommodation units and offices) measures approximately 277,000 square feet.
In essence what this Law aims to achieve is to permit an enhanced (and slightly more flexible) use of the Howard Davis Farm site, in return for a financial contribution to be paid into the previously mentioned Trust.
At present, the existing uses of the site comprise the following:
- The offices, laboratories and ancillary areas for the Environmental Services Division.
- Glass houses and poly-tunnels all but one of which are currently unused.
- The Centre for Further Education, including an Art Block.
- Acorn Enterprises (which is operated by the Jersey Employment Trust - a charitable Trust part financed by the States). It gives disabled people and those who find it difficult to work in an open environment the opportunity to work in horticulture and garden maintenance amongst other activities.
Additional activities include a commercial business recycling timber. There is also a small shop operated by Mencap Jersey. Acorn would like to marginally expand their retail presence to incorporate a small café, which could be used for further training of their clients.
- Certain storage buildings in which the Transport and Technical Services Department bags recycle green waste as compost, and crushes tomatoes to liquid for clean disposal in times of surplus.
- An animal carcass incinerator (as opposed to the pet crematorium, which is actually located on an adjacent site).
- Three residential units, only two of which are currently used for staff working at Howard Davis Farm.
- Ancillary car parking for those working at the Farm.
- The site also has consent for a new Dairy.
Most of these uses do not comply with the existing Covenant (other than the Dairy, which has been granted permission under the Howard Davis Farm (Partial Abrogation of Covenant) (Jersey) Law 2007).
By way of example members may recall that in legal terms there is a distinction between horticulture and agriculture, with the former being in breach of the original covenant, and the latter being in compliance.
One new use that is proposed, and which would be permitted purely on a temporary basis, and only for a period of time fixed in the Law, is that of an animal carcass incinerator. This was requested as an emergency measure by the Department of Transport and Technical Services who were concerned to ensure adequate facilities were in place should (for example) an outbreak of Blue Tongue occur in the Island. This was discussed with the Davis Family (“the Family”) in December 2007, and a temporary period of occupation agreed.
It should be noted that as part of the 2007 debate, it was welcomed by a number of members that Treasury officials had worked with representatives of the T B Davis family, and that such communications would continue. Members will recall the statement issued by the family representatives which was reproduced in the addendum to the report accompanying P170/2006. It is these same individuals that are referred to as ‘the Family’ in this report.
The Family have been extensively involved in the discussions over the regularisation of the current uses on the site, and have welcomed the proposals to bring the covenant up to date and thereby rejuvenate the links of the Family to Jersey. This culminated in a formal meeting in Jersey during the recent visit by representatives of the family to rededicate the restored Howard D lifeboat on the weekend of the 17th to the 20th May.
Revision of Covenant
The Family has consented to the abrogation of the covenant which shall make it lawful for the Public to lease Howard Davis Farm or any part thereof free from the covenant but subject to the restrictions set out in the schedule “Conditions of letting” of this Law and on the basis that the rental income shall be applied to the Trust in accordance with Article 3 thereof.
Following negotiation and agreement between officers and members of the Family, the means of calculating the monies to be transferred into the Trust is proposed as follows:
- Howard Davis Farm is divided into 2 areas (North and South) by La Rue Asplet.
- The South consists of the proposed site of the new Dairy, and the balance of the land, which includes the main farm buildings, presently occupied by the States Environment Department.
- The area to the South of the road is then further subdivided into 2 sections.
- The site to be occupied by the Dairy will be by way of a ground lease and no responsibility will fall upon the States for any property maintenance. The States have previously agreed that all of the monies arising from this lease will be paid into the Trust. This Law modifies this commitment (with the agreement of the Family) to 80% of the monies received from the Dairy being paid to the Trust, with the remainder going to the States as a contribution to the on-going maintenance costs on the rest of the Howard Davis Farm site.
- The remainder of the site contains a number of buildings, including the main farm buildings which are presently occupied by the Environment Department and three houses. In the longer term, a market rent will be payable to the Trust for the use of all of the residential units. When this occurs, 50% of the rent passing will be retained by Jersey Property Holdings as a contribution towards the maintenance of the buildings on site. However, for the States Offices a nominal rent of £7,000 p.a. has been agreed with the Davis Family. This would increase annually in line with the annual percentage rise in the Jersey Cost of Living. The proposals under this Law would firstly legitimise the present use of the site for offices of the Environment Department and residential units, and will also allow a degree of flexibility of use, such that other administrative offices could make use of the buildings if necessary. Extensions to existing buildings (subject to the requirements of Planning and payment to the Trust of a market ground rent) would also now be permitted. All of these proposals are supported by the Davis Family.
- The Northern part of the site is mainly occupied by Acorn Enterprises.
- There is recognition that the activities of Acorn are welcomed by the Family and considered appropriate to the site, and it is therefore proposed that Acorn will be granted a long contract lease on a peppercorn rent in respect of the area to the North of Rue Asplet.
- The remainder of this site is currently occupied by T&TS. The medium term intention being to allow Acorn to occupy that location.
- Any rent on the Northern part of the site will be on the basis of a ground rent, and accordingly 80% of any proceeds would be paid into the Trust (even if this is in respect of a peppercorn rent), with 20% retained by Property Holdings to go towards maintenance costs arising elsewhere on the site.
- It should be noted that where a percentage of the rental income arising from any property on the entire Howard Davis Farm site is passed to the States to meet buildings and general site maintenance, if that money is not wholly spent on maintenance, any surplus is to be divided between the Trust and the States on an 80:20 basis.
Trust Fund
In the Howard Davis Farm (Partial Abrogation of Covenant) (Jersey) Law 2007, the Minister received approval from the States Assembly for the proceeds of any lease of the land to be held by the Treasurer of the States and kept by him in a separate interest bearing account until the setting up of a trust fund which is within the spirit of the original charitable purposes of the T. B. Davis gift.
The proposed Law further refines that intention, and gives detail (under Article 3) as to how the monies to be transferred to the Trust should be calculated.
A trust deed has been drafted by the Law Officers Department in consultation with the Family and is ready to be considered and approved by the Minister and provided the members approve this Abrogation Law.
The Trust will have the following Principal Objects:
1) training and research in respect of agriculture and horticulture, whether in Jersey or elsewhere; and
2) the protection, enhancement and monitoring of, training with regard to, and research into, the environment, whether of Jersey or elsewhere.
If this Law is approved, and once the Trust has also been approved, it is the intention of the Minister (as a one off event) to amend this Law by Order to specifically identify the Trust by name.
It is not possible to do this until the Trust exists. At the time of lodging it is likely that the proper name of the Trust will be the Howard Davis Farm Trust. This will ensure clarity, and avoids any possible confusion in the future if another Trust were to be constituted either in Jersey or elsewhere, with similar Objects.
Financial and manpower implications
The financial implications are in respect of the obligations by the States to pay rent to the Howard Davis Trust, to receive rent from the Dairy and to invest in property maintenance as described in the law.
Over the first nine years the States will be required to increase its revenue allocation by an average of £20,600 for the first three years and £28,500 thereafter, of which £14,000 rising to £26,000 by year nine will be spent on remedial maintenance to the Farm buildings and grounds.
So by year nine the net incremental cost to the States of the regularisation of all existing uses at Howard Davis Farm and the extension of uses for the Dairy will be only £2,500 per annum.
It is considered that this represents a small sum to pay in order to regularise and allow the limited extension of all current uses at Howard Davis Farm.
There are no other financial or manpower implications for the States arising from this draft Law.
European Convention on Human Rights
Article 16 of the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000 requires the Minister in charge of a Projet de Loi to make a statement about the compatibility of the provisions of the Projet with the Convention rights (as defined by Article 1 of the Law).
In accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000 I recommend to the Minister for Treasury and Resources that he may make the following statement.
“In the view of the Minister for Treasury and Resources the provisions of the Draft Howard Davis Farm (Abrogation of Covenant) (Jersey) Law 200- are compatible with the Convention Rights”
(signed) Senator F.H. Walker
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