To decide whether to dispose of 4 Angel Gate, Harwich.

(a)     That the freehold disposal of 4 Angelgate Harwich be approved;

(b)     That selling the site via auction be approved at the agreed guide price and at 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.

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.

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.