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THE REV. G. L. WILLIAMS AND…

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THE REV. G. L. WILLIAMS AND THE LOCAL BOARD. CLAIM FOR £500 On Tuesday morning Mr. Edward Corbett, sur- veyor to the Bute Estate, the arbitrator appointed to arbitrate on the Rev. G-. Llechidon Williams' claim for £500 compensation from the Barry and Cadoxton Local Board, for taking possession and using a piece of land leased by him. and for damages sustained thereby, held an inquiry at the Board-room. The Rev. G. L. Williams and his solicitor. Mr. L. J om>s-Lloyd, and his architect, Mr. Bruton, appeared in support of the claim, whilst the Local Board was represented by Mr. George Thomas. Mr. J. A. Hughes (the clerk), Mr. J. Pardoe (the surveyor), and Mr. H. Snell, the sur- veyor of Lord Windsor's estate. Mr. Jones-Lleyd made an opening statement, and said the sum was made up by a claim of £ 50 for compulsory sale, and £45;) for damages sus- tained by Mr. Williams not being able to build the class of house he had intended to do—instead of erecting a house which would realise a rental of £40 a year he would be able only to build one which would bring in £22 a year. The rev. gentleman leased the land in question from Dr. Milward, the owner of the Court Estate* at a ground rent of £4 a. year. He was willing to refer the matter to arbitration, and in consequence of communications which had passed between Mr. Hughes and Mr. Jones-Lloyd, he asked the arbitrator now to fix the amount of compensation to be paid to hia client. Mr. Williams. The Rev. Griffiths Llechidon Williams said that on the 22nd April, 188o, he took the plot of ground at the corner of Holton-road and Courtney- street for a term of 999 years, at a ground rent of £4 a year. TIe took it for the purpose of building a house to reside in himself. He had had certain plans prepared (produced) which the Cardiff Rural Sanitary Authority had passed.—The Arbitrator here asked whether there was any dispute as to the area, and Mr. Hughes replied that there was.— Specifications were then prepared by Dr. Milward's architect. Mr. Bruton, on the 22nd August, 188S. The building had not been erected, but he was still in possession of the ground. He had paid the rent of it, but not until he had been pressed to do so by Dr. Milward. He never gave the Barry and Cadoxton Local Board psrmission to encroach upon this piece of land and was not aware that the road touched his ground until it was maJe. There were plots of land unbuilt upon the other side of the road be- longing to the Wenvoe Estate. In cross-examina- tion by Mr. Hughes, Mr. Williams said he had made up his estimate of £. 500 from the advice of some friends, his architect, and from his own .opinion. He should not be able to build any back premises or stabling adjoining the house now, but would be obliged to build them elsewhere. If he built the house, and then decided to turn it into business premises, he could do 80. although it was contrary to the lease; but he had had conversation on the subject with Dr. Milward, who said he would not raise any objection. He took the land in 1883. but did not build because he had bought property elsewhere, and he thought it would be better to wait a bit. It was a fact that Dr. Milward had a right to take possession of the land, as he had broken the conditions on which it was taken. It sras the rule not to p~»y the ground rent until they had the lease. In answer to a query by Mr. lu ghes, Mr. Williams said it was possible to build a similar house elsewhere, but not in a similar position. He made liis claim up of a sum of £ 50 for the enforced sale. The land was not fenced off, and he was not aware the board were going to take it; but he knew that a very im- portant road was ,oing to be made near his land. He was living at Barry Dock, and did not pass by the new road. The matter, he admitted, was not done quietly or privately, and he had had oppor- tunities of looking at the plans. The Board had tried to settle the matter, and Mr. Robinson, the chairman of the Board, and the Public Sites Com- mittee had seen him on the matter. The total amount paidi hy him had been £14 12s. 6d.. for plans and specifications and .=824 for rent of land paid on the 1st of May last. The claim was the difference between the value of a £40 and £22 a year rented house, and it was estimated at 25 years' purchase. He thought he should be able to let a house at the corner of Courtney-street for :£40 a year. The horse near the site had been let for 16s. a week when houses were scarce several years since. The houses on the road were let now at from 6s. 6d. to 10s. This house would have a 2oft. frontage, however, as against a 16ft. possessed by the others. He had never heard of £25 being offered him for compensation. Mr. G. Thomas and Mr. William Thomas said they would recommend the Board to give him £50 if he dropped the pro- ceedings. Mr. B.'uton, F.R.I.E.A.. said he was architect to Dr. Milward's estate. He prepared the plans, agreements, and specifications for the ground in question on. the 26 th April, 1885, for Mr. Williams. He made a subsequent survey of the ground, and found that it was impossible to erect the £40 a-year house. If he had built it. at the rate of progress made by Cadoxton, in 2;. years it would be worth the money. He made the valuation of the damage at £506. The new road which had encroached on the ground was a diversion of the old parish road—the main line of connection be- tween Cadoxton and Barry Dock.— Cross-examined .hy Mr. Hughes Mr. Bruton said he thought £503 was a fair amount. The plans put in by the Local Board for the road he did not consider correct. He had valued the land in the usual way. If they had taken the whole piece of the land they would have had to pay. on the 25 years' system £100, but if the land was let for certain purposes they must take that fact into consideration. He thought if the house had been built and the Board taken it away from Mr. Williams, they would have to pay more than ;£ 50\)..Although he had not shewn it in his estimate, he had takan into consideration the fact that in building a £40 .a year house more capital would -be required.— The Arbitrator said that, as the Board had not compulsorily taken the land, the item of :I. 50 was no good.—Mr. Jones-Lloyd concurred.—Mr. Bruton said the new road was one of the most important in the district. He estimated roughly that the cost of erecting a £40 a year house would be £300, and a £22 house about £300 or £ 400. Mr. Hughes said that the position of the Board was that they decided to turn a lane into a 40ft. road, afterwards altering it to 50ft., and had obtained the consent of most of the owners. They saw Dr. Milward, who had given them permission to take land required as far as he was concerned, but where the land was taken they must arrange with his tenants. Mr. Causey was the only one mentioned, and they took it for granted that he was ithe only tenant there. They had not any knowledge of Mr. Williams being a tenant. The Board had been most anxious to settle this affair in an amicable manner, and had offered Mr. Williams £25, which they considered ample com- pensation. Mr. G. Thomas had informally asked whether £50 would meet the case. Mr. Hughes then put in plans, which showed that the ground taken was only 151 square yards. With regard to the approval of the plans by the Rural Sanitary Authority was it not the Highway Authority who had charge of the highways. He, himself, was concerned in a case where a Highway Board took proceedings because a house was built within 15 feet of the centre of the road. Dr. Milward had let ground that was not his. He cantended the hedge was the boundary, and Dr. Milward could not let the hedge.—Mr. Jones-Lloyd said the ground was not within 15ft.—Mr. Hughes said he should like also to point out that the way in which Mr. Bruton had valued the land was a most unusual way. If he had valued the whole of the piece of land at 25 years purchase it would be only about £125, and it was simply absurd to say that because a man could build a house on it, it was to be valued accordingly. Mr. Snell and Mr. Pardoe next gave evidence as to the reliability of the Ordnance Survey Map, which was disputed by Mr. Bruton and Mr. Jones- Lloyd, and Mr. George Thomas gave evidence as to the compensation offered. Had he known of the small amount of land encroached upon he should have objected to give even the £25 as compensa- tion. He questioned very much whether Mr. Wil- liams could get £40 a year for any house erected at the corner of Courtney-street £25 was as much as he would get.—Mr. Hughes and Mr. Jones- Lloyd then addressed the arbitrator as to the cost of the arbitration, and the Proceedings terminated. The arbitrator's award will be given in the course of a few days.

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