We are at our wits end and any help would be gratefully received.
5 years ago we bought a small piece of land which we hoped to build a house on (the Council had already agreed to this in principle with the sellers). The long term plan was to build the house, sell our own and downsize slightly and use any left over capital to help our child (who has special needs). We used savings and a mortgage towards the purchase.
The local authority search didn't show proposals to build a dual carriageway next to the site (it said that nothing was proposed) and this only came up during the planning application process. We didn't know anything about this and it was in it's early stages of consultation so could take many years before the position is certain. We were devastated. To complicate matters, the highway authority then sent us a notice saying they might need to (compulsory) purchase a section of the land but this would depend on the final scheme layout, meaning we were unable to secure a further mortgage for the build and local estate agents advised that it had minimal resale value other than if a neighbouring farmer wanted it. The sellers apparently knew nothing about the scheme (I am doubtful this is true but can't prove otherwise).
I contacted the Council and, after repeatedly refusing to reply, they eventually admitted the search had been completed wrongly but didn't even offer a refund of the fee. They referred it to their insurers but their approach is to reject any type of negotiation or discussion. We engaged solicitors but they have cost £15k to date (this includes a specialist valuation) and the Council's solicitors dismiss every offer we have put forward- I think they know we can't fund this indefinitely.
If we progress to court our Solicitor thinks we have a good chance of winning the full difference in values between what the land is worth with permission and its value now (around £200k) but costs are likely to be £50-£75k and we may not receive these in full. We can't afford to take this option and my husband has become ill with the stress of worrying about it.
Our Solicitor has now suggested we repeat our previous offer to accept just £25k, the difference between the agricultural value of the land and its agricultural value with the road. This is much lower than it would have been worth with planning permission or hope value, but we just want this over now. This offer will cost around £1k in legal fees (which we don't have) and I imagine it will be rejected out of hand again as it was previously.
Does anyone have any other ideas as to how we can recoup at least some of the loss in value? Is this something I could take to the small claims court as I have masses of evidence and at this stage would be prepared to accept the £25k just to move on with our lives and pay off some of the mortgage? Or could the local government ombudsman help (although I've been unable to find any similar cases)? Any ideas gratefully received