Kentish Express Ashford & District
Historic barn sold before it could be auctioned
A historic Grade II listed building has been snapped up by an anonymous buyer before it had a chance to be auctioned.
The historic Repton Manor Barn, in Sir Bernard Paget Avenue, Repton Park, Ashford, was bought for an unknown sum.
The freehold guide price for the 0.69-acre site was £350,000 to £360,000, but auctioneers Clive Emson brokered a deal between the vendor and a mystery buyer prior to the site being put up for sale at auction for the second time last week.
The site’s original guide price had been around £450,000.
It is not known exactly what the new owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, will do with the empty site but it comes with full planning permission for conversions.
Although the details of the plans are subject to conditions, the green light was given earlier this year to convert the historic “long barn” and the other former farm buildings into a restaurant or bar, coffee shop and eight retail units.
The major site was up for auction and among 146 lots listed by Clive Emson for an auction in Detling, near Maidstone, but the land and property auction- eers brokered a deal between the vendor and new owner before the hammer fell.
Auctioneer Kevin Gilbert said: “The complex includes the long barn, which is Grade II listed and is thought to date from the early 19th century – it is exceptionally long and a magnificent architectural feature.”
The barn, which has been empty for many years, is on the former Templer and Rowcroft Barracks site, most of which has already being developed.
Repton Manor, to the west of the barn, has been converted into offices while the Waitrose supermarket is to the east, and houses have been recently built to the north and south.
Artists’ impressions have previously been drawn up to show how the complex could look, including the use of outdoor seating.
BTL Developments, based in Great Chart, submitted the application to Ashford council in June, after buying the site from Shepherd Neame early in the year.
Before the sale, Malcolm Gomez, from BTL, said: “The site has sat derelict and redundant for a number of years and so the opportunity for the site to be brought ‘back to life’ is something that the local residents and community it would seem are keen to see happen.”
‘The barn… is exceptionally long and a magnificent architectural feature’