Commissioner of Lands Alan McNeil today scored another legal victory for the public after the High Court supported his decision to resume a portion of land from a Chinese businessman in the Rove area, west Honiara.
Located at the foreshore, opposite the Ngossi-Tasahe junction on the Tandai Highway, McNeil said this is a relatively small parcel at just 652 square metres, but has direct frontage to the highway and to Iron Bottom Sound and is therefore a strategic location.
The High Court ruled that McNeil complied with the Land and Titles Act in the process of resuming the land for public purposes.
“The public purposes referenced in the resumption notice are drainage, sewerage outlet and public parkland,” McNeil explained.
“The court also ruled that the transfer to Solo Enviro Beautification was lawful,” he added.
“Notably, the re-allocation of the land to Solo Enviro Beautification by the Land Board came with conditions that they can only carry out works involving landscaping, beautification and public access to the sea.”
At the same time, the High Court rejected Chinese businessman Hong Jun Zhang’s application for compensation for losses resulting from the resumption.
Zhang is the owner of Jayz Enterprise Limited and Jay Gold Dealer.
The court noted that Zhang had carried out earthworks on the land after the resumption notice, therefore he had trespassed, and damages are ordered to be paid by him to the Commissioner of Lands, with the figure to be assessed.
McNeil said this ruling reinforced the power of resumption for public purposes.
“We have several rulings in our favour now when it comes to resumption of Fixed Term Estates for public purposes,” he said.
These include the land where the new Ministry of Finance complex is located in Noro; the land where the telecommunications towers are located after Don Bosco Technical Institute at Henderson; the traffic island known as Promise Point outside Lawson Tama; a part of Mbokonavera school grounds; Henderson Airport land close to the new international departures terminal and taxiway; and part of the nearby Biosecurity Solomon Islands grounds.
“The success of these rulings is often measured not so much in terms of what you see on the ground but rather what you don’t see on the ground.
“For example if I had not resumed this land we may well have seen a fuel station built on this site, which is what the former Fixed Term Estate holder had wanted to build.
“We are reminded every time we experience heavy rain just how important it is to keep drainage corridors clear and free of development, and development of this site would likely have prevented or hindered the free flow of stormwater from the Ngossi area out to sea, resulting in even worse flooding around this important road junction.”
McNeil thanked the Crown Counsels of the Attorney General’s Chamber for their professional role in defending this and all other resumption cases in court.