Property specialists at Colliers International have sold a landmark kitchen garden in Winterbourne High Street after untangling a web of planning constraints including having the ‘secret garden’ site surveyed for reptiles and hedgehogs.
Developers Beaumont Homes have bought the half-acre former rectory site to build three luxury homes in the heart of the village.
Colliers International development consultant Chris Dawson said the sale had been achieved after resolving a series of planning constraints including the landmark Grade II listed perimeter wall, listed building consent access issues, a knotweed infestation along with a requirement for reptile and hedgehog surveys.
He said: “The site is fairly small but is ecologically sensitive and it came with several unresolved constraints that had prevented the owner from bringing it to market. We were called in to sort out the outstanding issues and deliver a sale.
“These planning constraints are typical of the plethora of ecological legislation shaping development applications these days which can not only delay but in the worst case completely derail planning applications.”
The site, surrounded by a 2.6 metre high wall fronting Winterbourne High Street, is a familiar landmark although the ‘secret garden’ site itself has been overgrown for years.
Chris Dawson said: “Ecological conditions such as the ones we faced at the Winterbourne kitchen garden may affect a developer’s ability to start work after purchase and can also have an impact on the timing of a sale. It is absolutely vital sellers think ahead as many of the associated ecological surveys can only be undertaken at prescribed times of the year.
“For instance, there are specific activity seasons for bats, Great Crested Newts, reptiles and water voles.
“Failure to tackle ecological conditions in these specific time periods can really impact on the timing and eventual success of a sale.”
Granted in May 2010, the present planning permission is for two three-bedroom homes and one four-bedroom home with an access road off the High Street.
