This is a curious one. A very elegant setting with a brutal, though handsome concrete structure.
From today 24-8-24 it is for sale at guide of £180,000.
Broadclyst Water Tower, Broadclyst, East Devon, Exeter, EX5 3LE.
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In fact, if you look carefully on the RIGHTMOVE page, you will see the price has been REDUCED on 30th July 2024…
That PRICE REDUCTION augers well for a deal that doesn’t expect too high an offer over the £180,000. You’ll need to pull the HM Land Registry records to find out exactly what was paid. We recommend using the official HM Land Registry site: click here. Well worth doing if you are going to make an offer as this will help inform you of what the seller may be looking to actually sell the water tower for (in our view they will likely need to stomach a modest loss).
But here’s the rub: this Broadclyst Water Tower was guided at £39,950 by South West Water in December 2019.
Extraordinarily, after that tasty and very low guide of £39,950 for Broadclyst Water Tower in Devon the 2019 sale attracted 95 bids at that auction. The eventual “sold” price was reported by the BBC at £227,000. Source: Click Here.
Though whilst a PRICE REDUCTION may auger well for your bank balance, the impression we get is that a price reduction going south from what the current owner is reported to have paid in 2019 (£227,000), this may mean their “pre-planning” advice to convert the Water Tower into a home was dire and laden with bad news.
However, with your trusty copy of Unique Property Bulletin by your side (social media version: here) we have a “Plan B” that may help you capture this interesting property at a reduced price + pay its way…. whilst you make the planning application on the big tower. If the challenges are as bad as we suspect, you may have a FIVE YEAR long battle (or even more years).
From our perspective, we know there is a huge demand for homes: this is a brownfield site. What on earth can be gained by the local authority letting this tower rot and a family have no home?
That is financially reckless. The council should receive tens of thousands of pounds in Council Tax over the next few decades IF they were to behave sensibly and allow this brownfield water tower have Planning Permission to become a home.
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Broadclyst Water Tower, Broadclyst, East Devon, Exeter, EX5 3LE.
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The current Rightmove listing at £180,000 is at the upper end of what the earlier 95 bidders would have reached, so the chances of resale at that are much slimmer.
Here at Unique Property Bulletin, we’ve been doing this for 40 years and regular readers will know the next port of call is to see what planning permission might have been sought between the last sale in December 2019 and August 2024?
Broadclyst Water Tower, Broadclyst, East Devon, Exeter, EX5 3LE.
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We contacted the local planners, East Devon District Council, and they held an unusual planning application to “splay” the access road from the Water Tower to the main (adopted) B3181 (here).
The Planning Application to “splay” has a list of 23 archived and interesting documents to read) documents to read…
Broadclyst Water Tower Planning Files
Click Here
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Broadclyst Water Tower, Broadclyst, East Devon, Exeter, EX5 3LE.
We are tempted to suggest that the “splaying” might be to do with the “pre-planning” enquiry that HAS been submitted for a conversion of the water tower to a dwelling. That “pre-planning” advisory information is not readily to hand.
Although something interesting is going on, given there IS a planning application satisfy the roads department or someone within the council. That current planning application to “splay” the road, is likely to have been suggested as a road-safety measure for subsequent development on this site. With most of these types of unique property (proposed) conversions, the egress visibility at the site exit needs careful attention and occasionally requires “splaying” in order to give emerging vehicles a much longer line of sight and thereby AVOID being T-boned in an accident with a vehicle travelling at speed. In this case, along the B3181.
However, this is still just SUPPOSITION… an educated guess, albeit based on a smattering of some facts.
A random alternative (if the strictness of location by National Trust Killerton Estate prohibits conversion of the water tower) is that this is such a picturesque spot, it may be an idea to and to apply for a delegated permission to allow say 5 (five vehicle) motor home RV (Recreational Vehicle/Motorhome) pitches onsite under the unique Caravan Club rules…
This is our suggestion for your…
“Plan B“
Planning Quirks: The Caravan Club:-
The 5 Caravan/Motorhome Planning Exemption Rule
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Being a Water Tower, there will be water piped into the site and electricity for the old water pumps. Plus plenty of land for a septic tank (though RV/Motorhome effluent “cassettes” might need special protocols).
Again, this is supposition.
Although if you are a BUYER it is worth considering, as having 5 x motorhome pitches (producing a tidy income), plus a stonking great Water Tower to explore may help the numbers add up to north of £180,000.
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. Broadclyst Water Tower, Broadclyst, East Devon, Exeter, EX5 3LE.
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Broadclyst Water Tower, Broadclyst, East Devon, Exeter, EX5 3LE.
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Rightmove Details & Further Information
Click Here
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