THE redoubtable citizen of Kentish Town, Nick Harding (pictured), who has been pursuing the council for years over an alleged unclaimed debt owed by developers of the block of flats in Talacre, is to meet senior Camden councillors for the first time for a top-level discussion.
The meeting may take place within a few days – and the question will be: Does the developer owe an “overage” debt or any other form of debt – a sum that may run into £3m – and if so can it be reclaimed? Or, because it goes back more than 15 years, is it now an unreclaimable bad debt?
I have featured Mr Harding in recent weeks, highlighting his scores of emails sent to the council over several years, asking questions about the overage. I gather he is scheduled to meet councillors Danny Beales and Richard Olszewski at the “other” Town Hall in St Pancras – both of them represent the council in what is proving a controversial development and have apparently been briefed by top Town Hall officials.
Legal opinion seems to clash – a Town Hall-appointed “counsel” apparently advised the council three years the debt was “lost” and nothing could be done.
Another legal opinion, I hear, believes it is still quite feasible to claim the debt of the company in question even though it is based in an offshore tax haven. And that it is even possible to sue the company and foreclose on the property in Talacre.
Whether that would mean it would revert back to the ownership of the council remains to be seen. It is worth many millions on the property market.
