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A decision made (05.05.06) to instruct the Law Draftsman to prepare the Howard Davis Farm (Abrogation of Covenant) (Jersey) law 200-

Subject:	DRAFT HOWARD DAVIS FARM (ABROGATION OF COVENANT) (JERSEY) LAW 200-
Decision Reference:	MD-PH-2006-0037	Exempt clause(s):		N/A
Type of Report: (oral or written)	Written	Person Giving Report (if oral):
Telephone or e-mail Meeting?	N/A	Report File ref:		2/845/1
Written Report – Title	Howard Davis Farm – Removal of Covenant	Written report - author		P Tucker – Director of Property Services
Decision(s): To instruct the Law Draftsman to prepare the draft Howard Davis Farm (Abrogation of Covenant) (Jersey) Law 200- in preparation for it be lodged ‘au Greffe’ at the earliest opportunity.
Reason(s) for decision: To ask the Law Draftsman to prepare a law which will enable the removal of an existing covenant included as part of the original 1927 Deed of Gift by T B Davis to allow the site to be used, and/or to be sold, free of the conditions which require the premises to be used as an agricultural training centre and experimental farm.
Action required: Director of Property Holdings to forward relevant documentation and instruct the Law Draftsman on behalf of the Minister to draft the proposed law for his consideration.
Signature: (Minister) Senator T A Le Sueur			Date of Decision: 05/05/06

Howard David Farm - Abrogation of Covenant

TREASURY AND RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

PROPERTY HOLDINGS

REPORT TO MINISTER

HOWARD DAVIS FARM

REMOVAL OF COVENANT

2/845/1

Introduction

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 the late Thomas Benjamin Frederick 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. 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”

A very small percentage of the current uses actually fall within the uses permitted under the terms of this covenant with the decline in Island agriculture and the need for research and training within the industry.

Existing Uses

The current uses are shown on the attached drawing. They include part of the Philip Mourant Further Education and Training Centre and its Art Block which is operated as an extension of the Highlands College campus but currently has little or no demand for courses in agricultural subjects.

The main building is used as the office accommodation for Environmental Services and apart from a small amount of laboratory work which is undertaken in entomology and plant diseases there is little which could be accepted as being within the conditions of the covenant. A small number of agricultural administrative staff and produce inspectors are accommodated in detached buildings on the site.

Some trials work is currently in progress on Field 827 involving potato blight treatment and the planting of buffer zones around the perimeter of agricultural fields. The glasshouses are for the most part unused by the States being licensed for use by growers on a short term basis.

There are three residential units on the site all of which are occupied by staff employed by Environmental Services on an open market rental basis.

Acorn Enterprises operates from polytunnels and buildings on Field 567. This is a commercial operation growing seedlings and bedding plants which employs and trains people with learning difficulties and those in need of rehabilitation into the work environment. They also recycle timber for reuse in the building industry.

Transport and Technical Services have two storage buildings adjacent to Field 567 in which they operate a commercial compost bagging plant together with other machinery which most recently has been used to liquidise surplus tomato crops brought in by private growers.

Proposed Uses

For some time now the Department of Property Services has been negotiating with the Jersey Dairy which wishes to relocate its milk product processing and manufacturing facility from Five Oaks to a new site. Part of the existing glasshouse complex at Field 562, Howard Davis Farm site has been identified as being suitable for a new plant. A planning application has been made for a building of approximately 26,500 sq ft and this is currently being assessed for environmental impact. Subject to States approval for the removal of the covenant and the sale of the land it is planned to commence building work in the latter part of this year.

The new Island Plan approved in 2002 drew the western 4.32 vergées of Field 567, currently occupied by Acorn Enterprises, into the Built-up area and bestowed upon it development opportunities on an area which previously would have been denied. Island Plan policy suggests that only residential development is likely to be supported. The site is currently being evaluated along with other H3 and H4 sites with the prospect of bringing it forward early to meet housing demand, although that does not rule out open market residential development. The remaining eastern area of the field remains in the Countryside Zone.

Discussions are continuing on the future use of other land at Howard Davis Farm

Abrogation of Covenant

The majority of current and proposed future uses of the land and buildings at Howard Davis Farm are not within the uses dictated by the wording within the original 1927 Deed of Gift by the late T B Davis. It is therefore necessary to correct that situation by abrogation or variation by passing a law to that effect. Previous examples of this include the former Maternity Hospital in St Saviour’s Road, now used as offices and Le Bas Centre, and the former Westaway Crèche, which is now used as accommodation for medical and nursing staff.

It is not considered acceptable for the States to accept a gift of this nature on terms which create a charitable trust and then simply pass a law abrogating the conditions relating to the charitable purposes and to use the site for other, non charitable purposes with no further reference to the purpose for which the gift was given.

The need for an experimental or training facility devoted to agriculture has disappeared and there is a need for the land and buildings at Howard Davis Farm to have alternative uses. It is essential therefore that, even if retained in Public ownership, the States is asked to adopt a law which abrogates the existing covenant to allow those alternate uses and regularise the position.

In asking the States to adopt the law, the Minister will also seek for any capital that may be received from future sales of the land or building, which are currently included in the 1927 Deed of Gift, to be vested in the Treasurer of the States and kept by him in a separate interest earning account until such time that provision has been made by statute for the setting up of a trust fund which is within the spirit of the original charitable purposes of the T B Davis gift.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Minister instructs the Law Draftsman to prepare the draft Howard Davis Farm (Abrogation of Covenant)(Jersey) Law 200- in order to seek States agreement to the removal of the existing covenant which limits the use of Howard Davis Farm to that of an agricultural training centre and experimental farm.

Report written by Paul Tucker

Director of Property Services 5 May 2006