RESIDENTS of a town centre estate have been offered almost double the current value of their homes to sign them over to a property developer.
Mayfair-based Blackland Capital has made offers to around 80 leaseholders of flats in Woburn and Bedford Courts, on Wellesley and Tavistock roads. It wants them to sign over the rights to their properties for up to five years.
At any point during that time, Blackland could purchase the flats for a prearranged price.
The company could then knock them down and redevelop the site, which was built in the 1960s and has fallen into disrepair.
Residents could receive as much as 70 per cent of the current market value of their homes but, with the developer under no obligation to do anything with the site, they may be left to wait until 2019 only for nothing to happen.
The offers have divided opinion on the estate. Many appear willing to sign up, but others have accused Blackland of "intimidation", after residents who expressed a desire to stay were told they would face compulsory purchase orders (CPO).
Peter Dixon has been offered £276,000 for his two-bedroom maisonette in Woburn Court, as well as £10,000 for his garage.
He and a small group of residents have formed a committee to give a voice to those angered by Blackland's actions.
He told the Advertiser: "People feel intimidated and threatened both by the offer itself and the way the developer has gone about it. We want to give them a voice.
"The developer would have control of our homes for five years and, in a modern-day society, that's really not on.
"There are older people on the estate who are really frightened. They don't know who to turn to."
Johnson Hillman, who has lived in Woburn Court for two- and-a-half years, is among those who have welcomed the offer.
"Ideally, I would like to get out and the vast majority of people who live here feel the same," he said. Pointing to Saffron Square, the nearby top-end housing development in Wellesley Road, he added: "With everything else in Croydon being redeveloped this place is going to look ridiculous in a few years.
"I think the deal we've been offered is pretty fair and I don't feel like I'm being forced out."
Residents first met with representatives of Blackland in August last year, when they agreed to give the developer exclusive rights to examine the site until February 2014.
Householders and landlords with properties on the estate, which is made up of a series of maisonettes and garages, were made formal offers last month.
According to property website Rightmove, two flats were sold in Woburn Court last year, one for £130,000 and the other for £135,000.
Blackland has offered residents with long-term leases between £276,000 and £287,0000, with short-term leaseholders (less than 50 years left) offered £240,000. Those with garages would receive a further £10,000.
Under the agreement, Blackland could exercise its option to buy the properties at any time between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2019. While its plans for the estate remain unclear, it would be under no legal obligation to do anything at all.
"They could sit and do nothing," the contracts sent to residents say.
Developer staying tight-lipped BLACKLAND Capital declined to discuss the offers or its plans for Woburn and Bedford Courts this week. The Advertiser contacted Simon Ziegler, principal of the company, and asked about the five-year agreements and its vision for the site. A spokesman for the developer later replied: "Blackland Capital has been working on plans to acquire a site in Croydon. "We held our first meeting with the owners and residents of Woburn and Bedford Courts in August last year. "In February this year, we commenced the legal process relating to the purchase of the properties. "We have been able to reassure the majority of owners that the process we are following and our offers are genuine. "In the interests of the residents and owners of Woburn and Bedford Courts, we will not be releasing any further details of our plans for the site until we have finalised these negotiations." According to residents who attended a meeting last month, Blackland representatives said their plans had the backing of Croydon Council and that anyone who declined the company's offer would face compulsory purchase order (CPO) proceedings. A council spokesman said: "No decision has been or can be made regarding CPO powers at such an early stage of the development process."
