A landmark one-of-a-kind council house in Sidmouth has gone under the hammer four years after it was fully renovated using taxpayer cash.
The Byes Toll House this month sold at auction for £100,000, after East Devon District Council (EDDC) said the Grade II listed building had ‘proven unsuitable for continued use as social housing’.
The sitting room at the front of the property, which was decorated during renovations in 2022.
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
Pictured here is the kitchen at the former council home, fitted in 2022.
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
The garden at the rear of the former council home.
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
EDDC said the decision to sell the historic toll house followed a review of its housing assets, saying it had a ‘responsibility to manage public resources carefully’.
It said funds from the sale would be used to improve council homes, or in the development or purchase of new affordable homes for local people.
In March 2022 EDDC announced ‘a full, much-needed renovation’ for the Band A council tax property at an undisclosed cost, paying for a new kitchen and redecorating the entire authority home.
The former council home has one bedroom, with storage.
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
The bathroom at the one-bedroom home.
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
Pictured here is the inner hall at the former Toll House.
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
Earlier this month East Devon District Council said renovation cost information would require a review of historic records.
But now the authority has refused to reveal the outlay of the 2022 make-over, if the council pocketed any funds from the property through rental or holiday lets over the last four years, or if it reaped any other financial return from the riverside home since it’s latest investment in the building.
EDDC blamed its U-turn on a need protect confidential financial information.
An EDDC spokeswoman said: “The specific renovation costs and revenue associated with an individual council owned property are considered commercially sensitive and are not disclosed.
“Releasing this information could prejudice the council’s commercial interests in relation to the management of its property assets.
“The council publishes information about its overall finances and property related expenditure through its annual accounts and financial reporting processes, which are available on our website.”
Pictured here is the side garden .
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
The rear garden at the property.
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
The district council said the property sale had been driven by an in-depth housing review which found the historic building was now unsuitable as a council house.
The authority pointed to condition, location and investment costs as reasons for the sale.
The district council said funds from the sale would be ploughed back into social housing and affordable homes in East Devon.
An EDDC spokeswoman said: “The decision to sell The Byes toll house follows a detailed review of the council’s housing assets and reflects our responsibility to manage public resources carefully.
“Our priority is to provide safe, decent and affordable homes for local people. To support this, the council is investing significantly in planned improvements to its existing homes, so they meet required standards, comply with regulations, and are affordable to heat and maintain.
“In a small number of cases, properties are no longer considered suitable for continued use as social housing because of their condition, location, construction type or the level of investment needed to bring them up to the required standard.”
She added: “The Byes toll house is an historic building with a form of construction which, despite reasonable efforts, has proven unsuitable for continued use as social housing.
“Proceeds from the sale will be reinvested into improving existing council homes, or supporting the development or acquisition of new affordable homes for local people.”
The former Toll House has a Sid Vale Association blue plaque, highlighting the home’s historic significance.
Photo: Clive Emson Auctioneers.
Clive Emson Auctioneers confirmed the district council instructed the sale of the distinctive green and white single-storey home on the edge of The Byes. It went under the hammer on Friday, July 23, and ‘caught the attention’ of online bidders, selling for £100,000.
Audrey Smith, senior appraiser at the auction firm, said: “The new owner may consider the property for owner-occupation, as a lock-up and leave bolt hole or even for lettings.”
The Byes toll house, next to Waterloo Bridge, dates back to the early 1800s and is one of Sidmouth’s oldest properties.
The property had been used for housing council tenants since the end of World War Two.
It sat empty for several years after it was hit by severe flooding in 1986, and a new council tenant moved back in during 1974 after the property was refurbished.
