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Thursday, 5th July 2007

The £70,000 garage

Jon Smith

Vroom with a view
Vroom with a view
IT’S not in the best state of repair, but this run-down garage in up-market Hale has sparked a flurry of interest from would-be buyers.
 
However, anyone who forks out upward of the guide price of £70,000 will do so more in hope than expectation because currently all you can do is park your car here.
 
The plot does not come with planning permission for residential property and, with the current moratorium in place in Macclesfield, that is unlikely to change for a year or two.

Even so, the agents have taken the trouble to get drawings done which show a two or three storey house with roof terrace and parking at the front on the 40ft by 29ft plot.
 
The idea is being that someone buys the site, rebuilds the garage and then sits it out and waits for the planning rules to be relaxed.
 
Clive Hall from agents Holland Hall said: “It could also be of interest to someone who already has permission to build say five houses but who would prefer to use one of them on this plot.
 
“But the main interest has been from people looking for a longer-term investment to use it as garaging but put in foundations that would take a house.”
 
Intriguingly, the four bed period house next to the garage is also for sale - at £299,950 – and for those who have the funds it would make sense to use the garage to create a garden as well as off-road parking.

Bold Street, while not one of the town’s prized tree-lined routes, is a residential area and having a garden and off-road parking would add about £70,000 to the value says Hall. The house has been updated but could be improved still further by converting the large, windowed cellars into a breakfast/family room
 
Another alternative would be for a developer to turn the house into apartments and use the garage site as parking.
 
Best bids have to be in by next Wednesday.

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MORE information Holland Hall – holland-hall.co.uk or 0161 929 1117