Officer Decisions

Proposed disposal of c1 acre of DCC land at Monkerton, Exeter (West of Cumberland Way) to facilitate the sale of the land with an adjoining land owner

Approval to authorise NPS SW Ltd (DCCs Property Services Provider) to formally agree terms for the sale of the land as set out above.

This decision has been taken following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Asset Management.

An opportunity has arisen for DCC to significantly increase a capital receipt by disposing of its land interest together with an adjoining owner.  As a standalone site it offers a poor gross to net developable area, and DCC would be liable for the total costs of creating access to the site.  The promotion of the adjoining land would suggest that there is significant uplift in value by offering the site to an interested party in conjunction with the adjoining owner.

NPS SW Ltd, as the authority’s professional property advisors have assessed that this off market offer would yield a capital receipt in excess of any standalone marketing of the site for residential development.

1) Market the DCC site independently of the adjoining land. – There would be no reliance on third party cooperation but the anticipated capital receipt is likely to be lower than could be achieved offering the two jointly.

2) Make a planning application for residential use prior to offering the site.- If successful, this is likely to de-risk the site from a buyers perspective but it could also cause delays and experience with the marketing of the small DCC site to the east suggests that the current market environment holds little demand for a site of this size in this location.

3) Promote the joint site for sale and seek to develop the site for some other commercial use such as offices. The current offer from the developer exceeds values being achieved at the nearby Exeter Science Park and the shape of the site does not lend itself to commercial development.

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