County council bids to sell off land in North Devon to raise £5m

Devon County Council is hoping to bag up to £5million by selling parcels of land, much of it in North Devon.

The move to sell eight plots is part of wider efforts to jettison property and land the county council no longer needs.

The council’s land and property committee has agreed to sell the various plots, in locations including Barnstaple, Umberleigh and near South Molton on the North Devon Link Road.

The council predicts the sales could lead to it securing anywhere between £3m and £5m, plus it would save around £10,000 per year that it currently spends maintaining those plots.

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One of the sites being sold is land that was initially intended as an extension to the former park and ride on land south of the Park Community School in Barnstaple, but is ‘no longer required’, according to the council.

Another site chalked up for sale was land at Sowden Lane in Barnstaple. This was originally acquired by the county council as a potential area for light industry.

“The area has never been brought forward for that purpose and the focus was placed on development of Roundswell instead,” the committee was told.

“In discussion with North Devon Council, the site has potential for housing development and subject to approval to dispose of the land it would be intended to enter into a pre-application enquiry to explore the potential development of the site.”

The committee also received updates on 29 other sites – a mix of properties and land – that were either in the process of being sold, had been sold, or were being repurposed for other uses.

Back in 2023, Councillor Julian Brazil, who was then the leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, called a bid by the Conservatives to sell up to £10m in buildings and land a ‘fire sale’.

But the policy appears to be continuing under Cllr Brazil, who is now the leader of the council following May’s local elections.

This may be local councils are feeling financial strain, with Devon specifically losing a £10m rural services support grant in December last year.

A replacement scheme launched by the government did not direct any cash to Devon.

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