Homes Under The Hammer: Why Martin Roberts was totally impressed by this empty valleys plot
If Martin Roberts, presenter of BBC’s Homes Under The Hammer and former campmate in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! visits an auction site in Wales and calls it a “doozy” then chances are it’s an exciting property proposition for a bidder at the upcoming auction.
In September 2015, Martin was so taken by the potential of a brownfield site soon going under the hammer for a guide price of between £100,000 to £120,000, that he even joked when he filmed at the end of the property transformation that the row of new builds created be called after him.
Initially wandering around the site, he exclaimed: “Glancing around, seeing what I see, I reckon this could be a real doozy of a plot!”
Martin was investigating the empty 0.9 acres of land nestled within the Ashvale community of Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent and musing on what the site could maybe one day become.
The former Cartref Aneurin Bevan Nursing Home had already been demolished but there were still aspects of the site that Martin stated on the popular property television programme that needed to be considered before anyone decided to bid on it at the property auction.
(Image: Google street view)
(Image: BBC iPlayer)
(Image: BBC iPlayer)
He explained: “Caution and research are the key words. For instance, that handsome oak tree at the front of the site, well if you had done your homework you would know it had a TPO – tree preservation order – on it, so if you tried to lop it, top it or chop it down without permission then you could find yourself in court and facing a hefty fine of up to £20,000.”
The site also had an electricity substation in one corner but Martin was not put off by this extra feature, saying: “You swing this into a positive as it could provide electricity to potential houses built on this land.”
But the sale also came with an extra financial consideration- an overage clause.
Martin explained: “An overage clause takes all different kinds of styles, types, whatever – but it’s basically saying that if, in the future, the value of this land or what you build on it goes up then you have to pay the person who is selling it a bit more money.
“Now that could be the value of the land goes up because of planning permission or it could be the development value of the finished properties – it could amount to a significant amount of money.”
(Image: BBC iPlayer)
(Image: BBC iPlayer)
In the case of this parcel of land with building potential, the overage clause was on the rising value of the land if it gained planning permission, and not on the value of any properties newly built on the site which Martin deemed to be a positive.
The auction lot was reduced prior to the auction day from the initial guide price to £56,000 and was bought by local company R & M Williams Building Group, but it was maybe the fastest decision they had ever had to make.
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