Potential £80m Devon property and land sales in next 10 years, new committee hears

A potential £80 million could be bagged by Devon County Council if it sells more surplus buildings and land.

The inaugural meeting of a new land and property committee has been told the council has already earned that amount in the past decade by disposing of 126 buildings and 103 parcels of land.
Officers have estimated that another £80 million could be secured in the next decade based on estimates of sales of further buildings and land it might no longer need.
The total value of Devon’s existing property and land estate is around £834 million, but officers stressed this is an accounting value, and that the value of sites depend on market conditions.
The council has recently agreed to sell buildings such as Larkbeare House in Exeter, which was paused when Historic England reviewed the site for listing in January.
But with only the grounds subsequently protected under Grade II status, the property is now being re-marketed.
The authority earned £900,000 recently by selling Compass House in Magdalen Road, Exeter to the NHS, and £500,000 from Pottington Industrial Unit in Barnstaple.
The county council has also reduced the amount of office space it uses, partly by co-locating some staff in district council offices.
Tiverton’s children’s services team has relocated from the town’s Oaklands Court to Mid Devon District Council’s Phoenix House to reduce costs.
The land and property committee approved the disposal of three more sites at its inaugural meeting: Gas Lane, Torrington; Long Stone Cross, Ashburton, and Fremington Quay Store in Barnstaple.
Gas Lane, a former gasworks that closed in the 1930s, is having a site survey before being disposed of, while Longstone Cross is next to land recently developed for affordable housing.
Fremington Quay, on the banks of the River Taw, is currently leased to a leisure and retail business.
The council is also seeking to repurpose properties. Buildings could be turned into children’s homes, accommodation for children in care or those leaving care, and for adult social services.
Some could even be used to create special educational needs and disabilities (Send) facilities to help the county cater for children in its own properties, which would be cheaper than private providers.
Cllr Richard Scott (Conservative, Exmouth), the committee’s vice-chair, asked for more information at a future meeting on how many Send children could be catered for in repurposed council buildings, given 1,200 are currently in private provision.
Matthew Jones, director of transformation and business services, outlined the example of Rosalind House in Tiverton.
He said the former children’s home, and more recently an adult day services centre, is being repurposed into a home for five children.
Furthermore, Copperfields in Exmouth, and Newholme in Honiton will provide a combined 12 ‘staying close’ placements, which are linked to support packages for young people leaving care.
Officers also told the committee that around £2 million worth of property had been transferred to the voluntary sector “at low or no cost”.