Purpose

To decide whether
to dispose of 13 Angel Gate, Harwich.

Content

(a)    
That the freehold disposal of 13 Angelgate, Harwich
be approved;
 

(b)    
That selling the site via auction be approved
subject to the agreed guide price and the agreed reserve price;
and
 

(c)    
That the Corporate Director (Planning and Community) be authorised
to complete the sale on these and any other terms he deems
appropriate.

 

Reasons for the decision

The
property requires significant work to the structure as well as full
refurbishment to bring the property back to a condition suitable to
meet the standard for housing stock. In the current condition the
property is uninhabitable.
 
The
Council’s Housing Asset Management Plan notes that a
considered approach is taken to disposal of stock that is
disproportionately costly to repair or upgrade to an appropriate
standard.  With this property being
Grade II Listed and in need of significant repairs, disposal is
considered appropriate in the circumstances.
 
With
the same considerations around the heritage listing and the amount
of repair work necessary for the property to be habitable, a sale
by auction is recommended in order to
keep the sale timeframe reasonable and eliminate the possibility of
buyers withdrawing after months of legal work.

Alternative options considered

The following
options were considered and eliminated:
 

·     
Do nothing: the property will continue to deteriorate causing
nuisance to neighbours; this will also have a negative impact on
the Council’s reputation

·     
Repair and refurbish: this has a
significant capital costs and resource implications.

·     
To sell the property on the open market via an estate agent with an
asking price of £150,000.00: due to condition of the
property, and possible restriction that come with the property
being Grade II listed, sale in the open market will most likely be
a very time-consuming process. Any open market sales also run the
risk of buyers pulling out part way through the process, as they
are not tied into the agreement until exchange of
contracts.  This is a real risk based on
previous experience with the disposal of housing stock property in
a similar condition and can make the process much lengthier and
resource heavy.

·     
Demolish and re-develop: As the property is Grade II Listed, this
is not a viable option.