With further questions raised.
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Last month, we thought the Drill Hall was Done and Dusted.
Apparently not…
A correspondent alerts us to a notice appearing this evening that Devon property agents Bettesworths have an “Investment for sale in Sidmouth, East Devon” – which comes illustrated thus:
Zoopla give a few more details about this property for sale in The Esplanade, Sidmouth EX10, £1,400,000:
Features and description
- Freehold
- Substantial Waterfront Restaurant/Bar with Lease Agreed in Principle to Rockfish Group Limited
- Total Refurbished Building to Very High Spec (Building Work to Commence Jan 2025)
- Former Drill Hall with Fantastic Sea Views Along the Jurassic Park
- Investment Sale with Rent of £100,000 Per Annum
- For Further Information Please Contact Matt Bettesworth or Steve Doble
With more Property Details available at expertagent.co.uk.
Daltons provides a little more with its notice Substantial Waterfront Restaurant/Bar with Lease Agreed in Principle to Rockfish Group Limited.
All of which raises many questions, such as:
- As it is advertised for sale ‘with lease agreed in principle’ – are the District Council selling it on?
- Can the council sell the freehold – without its councillors knowing?
- Are the council selling it on into private hands again? And would Rockfish then sell on the lease? And would those who buy both the freehold and the lease be the same?
- Is this normal business practice?
Sidmouth Town Councillor Kevin Walker, who is the VGS/STC representative, has forwarded this comment:
“Cllr Walker was assured that the lease protected the provision of public toilets, and it would need EDDC consent if the leaseholder were to reassign the toilets to another operator. Also, that selling on a lease in this way was normal business practice for this type of business as it provides a means to fund the considerable cost involved in completing the work required. Of course, any future development would be subject to the usual planning process.”
Looking at the District Council’s own pronouncements on its pages, the latest is from last month with its press release 10 September 2024 – Rockfish sign lease agreement for Sidmouth restaurant; an update from January about Sidmouth Drill Hall; and an earlier press release 20 November 2023 – Statement on the Drill Hall planning application.
We look forward to hearing more detail on this latest development.
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