Going cheap…: one Victorian era Italianate villa, one careless owner, lovely views, possible development project, nudge-nudge, wink-wink, could be yours for just £1m
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Jason Perry’s efforts to sell the borough’s last remaining heritage buildings has now turned to a Grade II-listed Victorian villa that sits at the top of Gravel Hill – with an asking price well below what ought to be ‘best value’ for tax-payers
Croydon’s cash-strapped council’s efforts to flog off anything that isn’t nailed down has continued, with Heathfield House now put on the market – and with an asking price at a fraction of what it could be worth.
The sales spiel has appeared on Savills website, asking for bids by March 7, and suggesting a guide price of £1million. Viewings begin this Friday…
Heathfield House is the listed building at the top of Gravel Hill, set in what was once impressive gardens and parkland with views across agricultural land towards New Addington. Last year, it was turned into an HMO – house of multiple occupancy – at the council’s behest, but without having a proper licence or any planning permission.
To avoid costly incursions by squatters, the building was turned into 17 rooms for “key workers, young workers and artists”, each paying around £650 per month for a single room with shared toilet, shower and kitchen facilities.
It now turns out that Croydon Council managed to generate no income from this arrangement. So they are trying once again to sell it.
Somewhat sneakily, Savills have listed the property as “Coombe Lane, Croydon”, avoiding mention of Heathfield House, presumably to dodge the anticipated wails of complaint that yet another part of Croydon’s heritage and history is being flogged off.
The estate agents’ pitch is unashamedly offering the building as a development opportunity. “Tremendous scope”, they say, as the building has 12 bedrooms, as well as “views”, “garaging” and gardens – even though the Heathfield gardens are not actually included in the spec.
“Significant opportunities for redevelopment,” they say elsewhere. Which, given the building’s listed status, ought to be ringing alarm bells with the nice people at Historic England and the Victorian Society.
There’s a 125-year lease being offered, and a nudge-nudge, wink-wink suggestion that vendors Croydon Council will “fix” any planning restrictions. The council, of course, is also the local planning authority.
For sale: the red lines around Heathfield House show which parts are included in the leasehold sale
“As we understand it, the current planning use is for educational purposes, with potential (subject to consents) to be converted back to residential use,” Savills say.
“It’s a travesty,” according to one concerned resident.
“It’s the Riesco Collection all over again,” they said, referring to how a previous Conservative-controlled council, with Jason Perry a cabinet member, managed to flog off a large number of items from a Chinese ceramics collection that had been left to the people of Croydon by Raymond Riesco, the industrialist who used to live in Heathfield House.
Suffice to say, when Croydon’s Tories sold the Riesco Collection, they only achieved a pretty miserable price.
In 2025, Croydon’s council has no real say over what assets it can, or cannot, sell. Going cap-in-hand to the government for its annual bail-out – this year, £135million – the bankrupt council remains under the effective control of a government-appointed panel.
One leading Tory councillor confided that when he had attended briefings by the unironically titled improvement panel, “Their general position was ‘sell everything’.”
It appears that Heathfield House now falls under that dictum.
May need some work: more than 20 years of neglect by Croydon Council has left Heathfield House in a sorry state
Whether the £1million price tag meets government requirements to achieve “best value” for tax-payers is arguable. The asking price probably factors in the costs to any buyer of putting right two decades of neglect by Croydon Council.
Savills’ particulars states: “As can be seen on the attached plan there is approximately 10,000sqft of accommodation on offer. The property retains some stunning rooms and sits in an elevated position with far-reaching views to the south-east.”
Not all of the Heathfield gardens are included in the sale. “The property sits within beautiful council-owned and maintained grounds which are open to the public,” Savills say, risking prosecution under the Trade Descriptions Act over their use of “council-maintained”.
Three open days for prospective purchasers are coming up: this Friday, February 21, from 10am to noon; Wednesday February 26 (same times); and Saturday March 1 (9am to 11am). Potential buyers are asked to register for the guided tour.
The estate agents’ particulars describe Heathfield as “a former manor house”, which it is not. It’s a Victorian era Italiante-style villa.
And what they don’t tell potential buyers is that the Grade II-listed house was built in 1837, and was once the home of millionaire philanthropist Raymond Riesco.
Upon his death in 1964, Riesco left those prized ceramics to the people of Croydon, and as per an agreement he had reached with the council in 1945, Croydon bought the house and the gardens and farmland that went with it.
In 1945, Croydon had paid a purchase price of £83,000 – which in today’s values would be worth £4.6million. Considerably more than the council is hoping to get for Heathfield House in 2025.
Heathfield House’s history is still listed on the council’s website among the collection of parks and open spaces, with its “facilities” described as “Woodland and rhododendron walks”, and “Ornamental gardens and ponds”.
Historic England is the government agency responsible for keeping a check on listed buildings, such as Heathfield House. Last year, they told Inside Croydon: “We have not been consulted [by Croydon Council] on any listed building consent or planning applications since 2016.”
So it’s unlikely that Historic England has been advised of the sale of the building, either.
Read more: Long-neglected Heathfield House being rented out as 17 rooms
Read more: Council’s once-prized listed building Heathfield House left to rot
Read more: Riesco objections: Croydon Council’s squandering our heritage
Read more: Council’s botched attempt to airbrush Riesco from web history
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More proof that no building is safe in Croydon.
Millionaire Mayor Perry is happily flogging off everything on the cheap because he can’t ‘fix the finances’.
In the particular case of Heathfield House, the council has been scrambling around for years not knowing what to do with the place, and all the time it has been becoming more run-down and dilapidated.
If they are going to sell it, then they need to achieve a proper price for the property (and that will have to involve some discounting because of the state it is in). But they could insert caveats about the use of the house and the grounds.
Special schools can’t use it, because in a sensitive and Green Belt site, they are not able to fence-in their pupils with the prison-grade fencing they’d prefer.
It might be best for all concerned if they just gave the building away, to the National Trust or similar organisation with heritage at its core, and allowed them to pay for restoration and keep it in public use.
But they won’t be allowed to do that…
Smart move.
Is it a crime, in your eyes Peter, to be a ‘millionaire’? Perry already stands accused of being overweight and a wearer of short-sleeved shirts – how much more can he possibly take?
Executive apartments in a gated community? If Mr Riesco is looking down I bet he is wondering whether it would have been a better idea leaving the house and his ceramics to the National Trust!
That whirring sound you can hear? That’s old man Riesco spinning in his grave down at St Mary’s in Addington village.
Beckenham Place Park has really successfully utilised the mansion for community groups, why couldn’t this be the same?
Because this is Croydon “Can’t Do” Council !
Some of the gardens/land are not included in the sale, so does that mean that the Ecology centre (which used to have a couple of sheep!) will remain there? Or as the idiots at Croydon Council are desperate to sell it, will some greedy buyer persuade them to part with much/all of the land too?
It was used as a training and meeting centre for many years and had a caretaker who had another house on the same land. I was under the impression that the house was left to Croydon for the use of the residents of the borough. They never eally looked after it even then I dread to think how bad it has got.
Common misconception, Dee.
Just a million? You’d think part-time short-sleeves Perry would have a better grip on the property market. After all, three years ago he paid £1,350,000 for the 6-bedroomed pile he currently inhabits. Unless Heathfield House has been deliberately marked down for the benefit of some Tory developer…
Indeed. There’s quite the whiff of fish about this, isn’t there?
Is it a crime to ne able to pay £1.35 million for a house? I have dealt with the short sleeves crime in another response!
It just a pity he removes the “Mitcham Belle”* epaulettes from them.
*other motor traction companies offering day excursions to popular south coast resorts are available.
Nobody said it was a crime to “ne” able to pay £1.35m for a house.
My point is you’d expect the leader of a council in dire straits, who makes cuts to “fix the finances”, would pause to consider whether the right and proper thing to do is flog off a property that’s bigger and better than his own for a lower price than he paid for his oversized home.
That point is covered by section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972, which gives a local authority the power to dispose of land held by it in any manner it wishes provided that it achieves the best consideration that can reasonably be obtained.
Newman and his numpties were notorious for paying over the odds. Perry and his pillocks deserve our contempt for selling our land and buildings at well below the market rate
Ne indeed! But what relevance is the price he paid for his pile?
Do you really need it spelling out for you?
If Piss-poor paid £1.3million for his mansion near Lloyd Park, then he is well aware that the asking price for Heathfield House is well below its true value.
I wondering why they don’t flog off the mayoral chain – about £63,000 cash for scrap value alone.
Surely nobody wants to be seen wearing it these days?
Around 1000 people have signed to save the building after a day. Are Perry & Co allowed to say no to the ‘improvement’ panel, or must they do as they are told at all times. To justify the panel’s salary they should be proactive and utilise every asset which is being neglected and negotiate deals. For example, chuck out Westfield (with a CPO, Westfield shouldn’t be profiting from any of the mess they have helped create) and choose developers that actually wants to build a shopping centre and select the best plan. Get rid of the Chinese developer in a similar fashion, negotiate the East Croydon Station expansion etc actual things that would improve things. If they don’t have the ability to do things like that then they don’t deserve to be there and should clear off. Is there any signs or evidence of any of the thousands of council employees attempting to do anything I have suggested?
Selling off everything is lazy and stupid. The vast debt remains and the debt interest payments are essentially unchanging whilst we continually lose assets for generations to come. No accountability for any of them past or present, they should all be ashamed of themselves but I honestly think they don’t really care.
Desperate times. Perhaps Croydon should consider selling something else? I have in mind its own currency.
Lewes Council in East Sussex sell the “Lewes Pound” which matches £ Sterling and it can be traded locally. Croydon, Council, being much larger, and with the advantage of a ready made Digital Dept should go one better and launch a Digital Currency a bit ( no pun intended) like Bitcoin. I would suggest that it is a limited edition of £1.4 billion in the same way that there is a finite number of Bitcoins that can be mined. Unlike Bitcoin and £ Sterling (which is no longer on the gold standard) the Croydon coin would be backed by the Council. Buying a coin would give you a share of the Council’s value.
OK the current value is not too high but once all the coins were sold (or even a portion) the Croydon debt would be reduced and interest payments would be freed up for other uses thereby increasing the value of the Council. You could, in time, own the Council!
Rachel from accounts promises that no Capital Gains Tax would be payable on the Croydon digital currency as the Treasury would benefit from Council debt repayment. This proposal is bound to work as Bitcoin is just a worthless currency with no backing and relies on punters just gambling that it will not crash with a loss of confidence. £ Sterling is much the same and both have had success over a considerable period.
Unlike other trading ideas where Croydon Council has gambled with public money this must be a much lower risk. It just needs a name to catch the eye of those eager punters out there. Obviously it cannot be called “Croydon Bitcoin” as that might attract legal action but how about something that rhymes with Bitcoin. You could even seek ideas from the public. So come on Croydon, be brave and launch “Croydon ****coin”. You know it makes sense and you have got just over a month to the best launch date.
Sheer genius, David.
I lived in Croydon for many years before retiring to the Peak District.It breaks my heart to see my much loved former “ home town” that holds so many happy memories in such a pitiful state.It does seem like honesty and neighbourliness has been replaced by greed,corruption and mismanagement
I am hoping my anonymous comment will be allowed as I am a resident at Heathfield.
We are guardians have developed a very nice sense of community in the building, it is no longer in “disrepair” and we have turned it into our homes (as temporary as that may be). I can’t comment on whether or not the Council has made any money from the guardianship program – all I know is that we all enjoy living in this beautiful building and have all worked to improve the “kerb appeal”.