Land use purpose

The Talking Point by David Pace (January 4), president of the Chamber of Architects and member of the panel of the Land Arbitration Board, on property valuation gives cause for concern. Mr Pace seems to argue that the value of expropriated property, land in particular, depends on its pre-determined use by the government.

He concludes that the government stands to benefit on land which is schemed for road widening as this would fetch a lower price. This would make sense if the land owner has any say on the final use of his expropriated land. It is true that land expropriated should be identified as a building site or otherwise.

However, the final use should have no bearing on its value, at least for the land owner.

What bothers me most is that Mr Pace is a member of the Land Arbitration Board. His stand on what determines value of expropriated land is surely detrimental to land owners. A clarification may be required.