The High Court has upheld the Commissioner of Lands’ resumption of foreshore land near the Ngossi/Tasahe junction for public use, dismissing a compensation claim and reinforcing the legal power of land resumption for public purposes.
On Friday 16 th May 2025, the High Court handed down its decision on a claim against the
Commissioner of Lands’ resumption of a Fixed Term Estate at the foreshore opposite the
Ngossi / Tasahe junction on the Tandai Highway. This is a relatively small parcel at just 652
square metres but it has direct frontage to the highway and to Iron Bottom Sound and is
therefore a strategic location.
The court ruled that the Commissioner 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. The court also ruled that the
transfer to Solo Enviro Beautification was lawful. 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.
The court rejected the Claimant’s (Hong Jun Zhang) application for compensation for losses
resulting from the resumption. To the contrary, the court noted that the Claimant 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.
Speaking after the court’s ruling, Commissioner of Lands Alan 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, including
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” (these are High Court
Civil Case Numbers 301 of 2019, 411 of 2019, 626 of 2019, 663 of 2019, 695 of 2020, 253 of
2021 and Court of Appeal Case Number 26 of 2022). Commissioner McNeil added “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”. Commissioner McNeil added: “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”.
Commissioner 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.
SOURCE: GCU PRESS
