A SEVENOAKS charity claims it could lose hundreds of thousands from an application by residents to buy a prime development site.
Trustees of Dorton House, Seal, are keen to push through the sale of their land, home to the listed mansion house, college and nursery buildings and 49 acres of land.
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Prime property: Dorton House, Seal
The property will officially be placed on the market tomorrow.
The charity has applied for permission to demolish the site’s existing teaching block, nursery and four existing homes and instead build a 34-bedroom close care facility with four new homes.
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The decision from Sevenoaks District Council is expected on March 15.
But the application has prompted objections from residents of the Wildernesse estate, who have their own ideas about what to do with the land.
They have applied to Sevenoaks District Council to make the site a community asset, which would give them the right to buy it under the Localism Act.
The details of the bid have not been made public, but it is believed the residents hope to build more housing on the land.
Dr Tom Pey, the chief executive of the Royal London Society for Blind People, was concerned about the impact of the association’s application.
He said: “The application made to the council by the Wildernesse Residents Association was to have the entire site listed as a community asset.
“There’s specific legislation that demonstrates what is a community asset – we definitely don’t fall within that.
“All the application can do is to slow down the process or in the most extreme case it could be seen as a ploy to depress the value of the site.
“We are not property developers – we are a charity for blind children.
“We need the leadership in the community to help us and support us. We are appealing directly to Sevenoaks district councillors to have their application be withdrawn quickly or to deal with it quickly.”
Sevenoaks District Council spokesman Daniel Whitmarsh confirmed: “We have received an application to list Dorton House as a community asset and, under the Localism Act, we have a duty to consider it.
“We intend to reach a decision by March 20, within eight weeks of the application being lodged with us.”
If the proposal is successful, the sale of the land will be frozen for six months to allow the association to come up with a business plan.
It will then take place under normal market conditions and the owner is under no obligation to sell to the community group.
Dr Tom Pey said he had hoped to seal the deal by the end of June. It is undecided whether the site – believed to be worth millions – will be sold as a complete package or in up to five separate plots.
Dr Pey added “We had discussions with the people of the Wildernesse Residents Association going back to last year.
“They had some idea about how the site might be used at that point. We did invite them to bid.”
The Wildernesse Residents Association would not comment prior to a meeting it is due to hold on Friday.