SUPREME COURT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 290, 27 August 1918, Page 9

SUPREME COURT

COMPENSATION CASE

DUKE OF EDINBURGH BUILDING

Tlio coinpeusation'case brought by the Duko iiuildinys, Ltd., against tho City Corporation, came before tho Supremo Court yosterday beforo His Honour Mr. Justice Hosking and two assossors, Mr. 6. H. Scales being for the claimants and Mr. O. B. Morison, K. 0., for tho City Corporation. Mr. M. Myers, with him Mr. 6. Watson, itppoared for tho Duke Build- j ings, Ltd., and Mr. A. Gray, K.C.,; with him Mr. J. O'Shea, City Solici- i tor, for the corporation. | Tho caso caino on for hearing boforo < Mr. Justice Edwards on May 12,1917, when the late Mr. O. S. Biss was as- ■ aossor for tho Duko Buildings, Ltd. After three witnesses were examined the case was adjourned owing to tho ! illness of tho presiding Judge. In tho I meanwhile Mr. Biss died. The hearing, . therefore, yesterday was practically a | l'roeh presentation of tho caso. : Tho statement of. claim set out that for the ,141-100 perches of land taken the company claimed £2530, and claim-; ed a further sum of £9210 for severance and injurious affection. The in- • como derivable from eight bedrooms on two fiats, from shop in Manners Streofc from collarette, and half the rental of tho tobacconist's shop will bo lost, and for this £9700 was claimed, loss the intrinsic value of tho land £2630, or j>7170. Cost of reconstructing, cost of shifting of the bar, disturbance of business make up the £9210, so that the total claim was £11,740. Tho corporation'having given an undertaking to remove certain buildings from tho land token tho claim originally made for a further £5000 was abandoned. ; Mr. M. Myers, in opening tho case, said that this was a claim for compensation in respect to a piece of land ; taken by the corporation for street • widening purposes. The land wns situ- < ated at the corner of Willis Street and \ Manners Street. This corner /is claim-; cd to be one' of the finest business sitea j in Wellington; indeed, there was only j ono other site in Wellington compar-! able to it. This was the Stewart Daw-! son cornor, which niight be better. Ho j submitted a plan of the locality and ! a model of the Iniildinp, and explained in detail the effect of tho' scvoranco and the loss and expense to the company, arising thorefrom. The total amount of the claim was £11,740, of which £2530 was the intrinsic value of the land, and £9210 for damages and expenses. For iustanm, the tobacconist's shop fronting Willis Street would /be reduced by 10 foot, and tho shop would he valueless, and would have to be taken into the bnr. Thero was another shop in Manners Street that would also bo greatly depreciated. Tho cellar and the bar would liars to be altered, and considerable alterations' would be necessary in the interior of tho building. If this were a building for shops and-offices tho taking of the land would rodu'ee the letting value of tho offices and shops, nnd tho compensation based on the capital value of tho lost rentals would be very much what the company was claiming, hut) their claim was for hotel premises. Charles S. Harcourt, oF the firm of Hftrcourt and Co., described the site as one of the best in.Wellington—one of the most ■ valuable for practically any purpose, such as shops and hotels. He made a valuation of tho land apart frein the buildings. He assessed tho value at £6 13s. 4d. per square foot, which made tho value of the block over £22,500, and of the piece taken at £2556. He explained how ho arrived at his valuation. He thought if it were-vacant land that ho could sell it at his valuation in the course of a day. Ho would value the land on tho Manners Street frontage of 79ft. at

£275 to £300 per foot, approximately. He preferred to valuo ihe land at per square foot because of its peouliar shape. Tho Government valuation of the land (unimproved) was £15,600, and wae less per square foot than the value of land in Willis Street away from the corner, which was somewhat peculiar,. He thought this_ valuation ' was too low, and that a mietake had been ma4e. The witness was cross-examined at great length by Mr. O'Sheai as to his methods of arriving at the valuation of the property, and as to his knowledge of the values of other properties in the neighbourhood. Alexander Anderson Gellately, a member of the firm of Bethuno and Co., 'said lie had had about 18 years of- experience of land agency business in Wellington. He regarded the Duke of Edinburgh corner as one of the , busiest sites in Wellington, and there- , fore of special value. He' valued the land taken by the corporation from the : company at £2570. ]So arrived at the valuation by taking the value of the block as a whole bofore the land was taken. He placed the valuo at £23,000, or about £400 per foot on the moan width in Willis Street. He thought ho could get £23,000 for the land without .' the building if it \wero in the market ! for sale. He, of course, took into coni eidcration the values of other properties in Willis Street and Manners Street, but particularly Willis Street, as he considered the Duke of Edinburgh more a Willis Street than a Manners Street property. Tho witness was cross-examined by Mr. Gray as to tho method of his valuation, and the values of other properties in both Willis Street and Manners Street, , Herbert William Shortt, land valuer, said he had been engaged in land selling. Ho said he valued the land taken by the corporation at £2337. Ho valued the whole of the land without the buildings at £21,000. This worked out at £6 2s. 3d. per square foot. He had personal experience of land in Willie Street in respect to the property at the corner of Old Customhouse Street. This land had a frontage of 52ft. x 90ft., and £400 per foot was offered if the current leases could be cancelled. The leases could not be determined. He took the value of surrounding properties in estimating the value of tli« Duke of Edinburgh property. Evidence as to the valuation of the property as a whole and the value ol the pieco of land taken by the corporation was also given by Mr. R. G. Uen ner, land agent, and Mr. G. Holds worth, of Benjamin Smith and Co. lurid agents. The further hearing of the ease wil be continued this morning.