THE BUYER of a piece of land up for auction in Lychpit will be left out of pocket when the council forces them to hand it over for just £1, the deputy mayor has said.

The village green on Broadhurst Grove and the ancient hedgerow on Saxon Way has been the subject of much debate this summer, as residents battled to save their space after the developers of the estate sold it off.

One resident told this newspaper that it would "ruin the lives" of neighbours should it be built on.

And now, the deputy mayor has said that "a large hole" will be left in the buyer's pocket when the council demand they hand the land over for just £1.

Cllr Onnalee Cubitt told a council meeting on Thursday that the land, which has been up for auction several times, had most recently been sold for £19,000.

She told the meeting, which had been reviewing a report made by councillors on the failure of development companies to transfer the ownership of land to the council, that it had been covered by a section 52 agreement, made around 40 years ago.

But the land was never transferred, despite the council maintaining it for that time.

Cllr Cubitt said: "I do understand explicitly from our legal department that we will compel whomever buys this land to hand over the land for £1.

"Whomever is paying, and the last price was £19,000, is going to end up with rather a large hole when they are given £1 by the council in exchange for finalising the section 52 agreement."

It comes after The Gazette reported on a similar situation in Minden Close, Chineham, earlier this year.

The soil underneath the road was put up for sale, with residents fearing that they would be charged for any maintenance works.