Seven traditional houses adjacent to the new Asda store, Newton Abbot, are to make way for 16 affordable flats in a deal that will save council tax payers £700,000.
The brick-built homes in Clarendon Road have been empty for a number of years and now Teignbridge Council is to sell them off to Westcountry Housing Association. It was an unexpected move that followed last-minute talks between the housing association and council staff.
A plan to sell the site to the highest bidder and spend the cash elsewhere on providing affordable homes was shelved after Westcountry Housing made a late bid for the site which is believed to be close to the £400,000 reserve had it gone to auction.
No other housing societies submitted formal offers to the council within the allotted time. The money, along with £350,000 the council had earmarked for affordable homes on the site, will now go back into the coffers. 'It's a bit of the best of both worlds,' said Cllr Keith Smith.
Not so happy was Cllr David Howe who, after claiming the council had created 'Asda Island' with its planning policies, wanted the houses sold off to the highest bidder. Concerned that the deal with Westcountry Housing might result in delays stretching beyond 2009, he said: 'Draw a line in the sand, sell them on the open market.'
He was also unhappy that the 16 one and two bedroom properties would not be provided with parking. 'To expect 16 people to live there without cars is a nonsense,' he said.
Leader of the council, Cllr Alan Connett, said other housing associations would remain as potential partners should the deal with Westcountry run into difficulties.