Having read with interest the article that you wrote about Downs House I felt compelled to send in my opinion on the sale price of Downs House.  What must remain paramount to the council is ensuring that whomever buys Downs House is buying the property not because it is the ‘sale of the century’ but because they wish to bring the prestige back to the house and land and maintain it. 

The property is featured and televised in every Derby and it is a landmark; beautiful and imposing but one that requires an enormous amount of work.

There are 10 acres of land which currently have hazardous waste on many parts (asbestos, and horse waste of colossal volumes even though the council has already removed a huge amount) that will need to be professionally cleared and maintained and the house does need major refurbishment not just on the inside but externally too. 

There have been some ‘unauthorised’ amendments to the Grade II listed Eclipse Barn which will have to be changed so that they are in keeping with current planning permissions; examples of this being concrete placed over flooring brick setts in the Grade II listed barn and exterior building bricks of modern age used to replace where the corner of the barn has been driven into by a lorry. The cesspit on the boundaries of the property also needs to be refurbished and potentially replaced.

The price for the property is actually more than £1.1 million as this is exempt VAT which needs to be added to the sale price therefore making it £1.32 million ( I believe that stamp duty is naturally added but VAT is added too as it is a business).

There is also a very narrow audience to sell this property to and obstacles such as Walton Road, the road that traverses over the Downs to the house, is a road that has no clear guidelines as to whom would be responsible for it - the owners of Downs House, Epsom Racecourse or the council.

In my opinion the price looks ‘cheap’ for the area but as with many things one has to trust the experts who valued it and then ask why the price is so low comparative to other properties in the vicinity.

The very important issue at hand is to make sure the property is not left empty and unkempt for much longer.  The sooner there is someone in Downs House to nurture it back to its full glory and celebrate the beautiful architecture of both the house and Eclipse Barn the better; the Downs and Epsom will be better for it.

Michelle Pace
Via email