Friday 5 August 2022 03:22 PM Whitstable holiday homes built on council land that sold for £165,000 go up ... trends now
A row of seafront holiday lets built on council land sold for just £165,000 has been put on the market for almost £3.5 million.
The seven cottages in Whitstable, Kent have been slapped with the hefty price tag by estate agency Christie & Co, who said the properties generated £430,000 in income from holidaymakers in the past year.
Consisting of one and two-bedroom houses, the lucrative site on Sea Street in the seaside town forms part of The Warehouse development that incorporated the formerly Canterbury City Council-owned Oval Chalet plot and land previously occupied by a tile firm.
The local authority struck a deal with house-builders to hand over its chunk for £165,000 in 2014, a decision that still riles critics of the scheme.
Locals have branded the ‘pittance’ generated by the council’s sale ‘a missed opportunity’ and said that the holiday properties are contributing to an over-abundance of second homes in the area.
A row of seven holiday homes in Whitstable, Kent (pictured) have been put on the market for £3.5million
The 'purpose-built' holiday lets consist of a mixture of one and two-bedroom properties
Graham Cox, of residents group the Whitstable Society, said: ‘They’re adding to the serious problem of making the area dead off-season.
‘The streets behind the beach seem to be 80 per cent holiday lets and holiday homes.’
The 2014 sale sparked a High Court challenge with a judge ruling that the council did not get the best price for the 0.2-acre plot.
Despite this, the judge ruled the sale to Sea Street Developments Ltd - headed by Whitstable Oyster Company boss James Green - could go ahead.
The Warehouse development also featured the erection of eight luxury homes which were marketed for almost £10 million combined last year.
The properties were built partly on land formerly owned by Canterbury City Council, which was sold in 2014 for just £165,000. Pictured: the view from one of the holiday
