Wiltshire to sell two council houses near Salisbury

The council's cabinet approved the sale of four assets at a meeting on July 8: Vacant properties in Wilton and Barford, a former children's centre in Royal Wootton Bassett and a strip of land currently used as a footpath.

Cabinet members argued the decision would remove two outdated homes from the council's ownership and create funds for new housing – but the Conservative group leader, Cllr Richard Clewer, described the move as a “huge error”.

Cllr Helen Belcher, the cabinet's lead member for assets, said both homes would require “considerable” investment to be made “liveable”.

Helen Belcher said the homes would need significant investment to be liveable, but Richard Clewer opposed the decision to sell them (Image: Wiltshire Council) She said: “The one in Wilton is an older house. The one in Barford St Martin is a very detached rural location, sitting on top of basically a small hill overlooking a road.

“Because of the amount of investment required, it is likely that we will not realise the full market potential if they were in tip-top condition.”

The authority is trying to raise around £1m by selling assets in the medium-term.

Cllr Paul Sample, cabinet member for the environment, said: “I’m familiar with the one at Kingsbury Square [in Wilton] because I walked past it a lot during the elections.

“It is a beautiful house, though it probably, from the perspective of modern building standards, doesn’t come up to scratch.

“It will make a wonderful house for someone who will be very proud to be able to live in Wilton. It’s small enough to perhaps be done by a young couple, or people starting out in life.

“It’s not a huge property but, in Kingsbury Square, I suspect it will command something of a premium. It is right, in my opinion, that we’re selling it.

“The other reason I think we’re right is because of this issue of our responsibility to meet our climate objectives and to have houses in our housing stock which are energy efficient.

“It’s going to be hard to heat that house, but the next one that we build, funded by the money from this, will meet modern environmental standards.”

The proposals were discussed by cabinet on July 8 (Image: Wiltshire Council/YouTube) There are 233 more council houses in Wilton, and 33 more in Barford.

Cllr Clewer said: “I think it’s a serious retrograde step to see these disposals. We don’t have enough council housing in villages, as it stands.

“I do understand the financial challenges – I don’t want to minimise them – but I think you’re making a huge error.

“The idea that by selling one of these properties, you’re making housing in Wiltshire more carbon efficient is nonsense. The house will still be sitting there and will still be as carbon inefficient as it is right now. 

“Yes, it could be a lovely house for a couple, or it could be a lovely house right now for a couple who are in desperate need and on a housing waiting list.

“I am really sad on a personal level, not a political one, to see council housing being sold within two months of me no longer being leader. That’s quite depressing.”

After the meeting, Cllr Rich Rogers, the Conservative group's spokesperson for housing, said selling the homes was “a very poor decision”.