Residents left in shock by Queen gardens auction
THE Queen’s estate is set to postpone the sale of land forming part of residents’ gardens.
Earlier this week it was reported that Queen Elizabeth’s estate was set to sell off a piece of her private estate in Baxenden.
The land set to go to auction for £1,000-plus, involved two long strips of land. But the looming auction led to distress among local residents as it formed part of 11 gardens on Sandybeds Close and Scott Avenue.
The property being sold by the Queen forms part of her private estate as the Duke of Lancaster, which is officially known as the Duchy of Lancaster.
Ted Dignan, of Sandybeds Close, said he and three neighbours were prepared to negotiate with the Queen’s estate prior to any auction amid worries over what may happen if a private investor got their hands on it. But the Duchy of Lancaster is set to postpone the auction to allow for residents to enter negotiations. Ted has now contacted the Duchy directly to negotiate for the four affected properties in Sandybeds Close.
They are set to offer £1,000 for the land, with a further £500 donation to The Prince’s Trust.
He said: “My solicitor has yet to get back to us. The auction house said they’re just selling the land. So it really is down to your news website to thank for this.”
A Duchy of Lancaster spokesperson revealed that the land being auctioned off had fallen into the Duchy’s control after previously being owned by Baftonhurst Limited - a company that no longer exists as of 1993.
Under UK law, all land in the country has to have an owner, meaning it was transferred to the responsibility of the Crown.
They revealed that the land had been offered to Hyndburn Borough Council, who declined to take it on, leaving an auction as the next avenue.
A Duchy of Lancaster spokesperson said: “This strip of land is not part of the Duchy of Lancaster estates. It was owned by a company (Baftonhurst Limited) which no longer exists. This means that there is currently no legal owner of the land.
“Under UK law, no property or goods can remain ‘ownerless’. Wherever this is deemed to be the case, responsibility for such assets are transferred to HM Treasury. In the County Palatine, they revert to the Duchy of Lancaster as ‘bona vacantia’. The land in question has already been offered to the local Council who declined to take over the ownership. It is therefore customary for such land to be offered for sale at auction. In disposing of the land the Duchy is clear that the residents’ ex isting rights will take precedence and any sale would be subject to them. Therefore none of the residents will be in a different position after any sale and will not lose any of the rights they have acquired to date. We would however be very happy to postpone the auction in order to allow time for residents who wish to acquire part of this land to enter into a direct discussion with the Duchy.”