Matford Lane DCC sale - land between The Coaver Club & Matford Lane

Devon County Council have decided to sell a part of the historic, and therefore protected, grounds of their County Hall premises.

The decision making process they used is being questioned.

Local authorities (LAs) across the UK are selling off public assets – such as schools and care homes – to try and reduce a collective debt of £122bn. (August 2025 figures). LAs have a duty to manage their assets on behalf of the taxpayer - us. It would seem sensible to consider selling off underused assets which do not have any protection, community benefit, or which are costing the taxpayer to run when providing little or no benefit.

The piece land in question is a 1.5 acre part of the historic grounds of County Hall as shown in the illustration. DCC was given temporary permission to construct some offices on the site, but that time has come to and end. Part of the conditions of that permission was that, when the time period ended, the site would be grassed over and it’s designation returned to ‘Greenfield’, the period has ended, but the site has not been grassed over yet and DCC have decided to put it on the market.

Being in the grounds of several listed buildings it is protected. It is not an ‘underused asset’ in that it is part of the grounds where the public can enjoy sport, community activities and fresh air. It is certainly not costing the owner any money to upkeep. 

What would a sale achieve? DCC would be hoping for a sale to a developer in order to make as much money as possible, which is a requirement of their existence. For a site that size, if planning permission for housing development was granted by Exeter City Council, which is certainly not a fait-accompli judging by recent community representation, would be somewhere less than 1% of DCC’s annual budget.

 

Selling a whole piece of Brownfield land or a whole building is one thing, but selling a part of Greenfield land within the City could be the thin end of a very nasty wedge. What’s to stop them choosing to sell off another part in the future when finances continue to be pressed? Land of this category is finite, there's no more being made, it needs to be conserved, once it’s gone it’s gone.

In a recent defence of their decision to sell DCC stated that most of the opposition they received was over matters which were in the hands of ECC, in other words it is the latter which decides what should be built there, ‘Not Us Gov!’. This is true, but clearly washing their hands of the negative effects of their actions whilst trying to maximise financial benefit.

 

If one is allowed to quote AI:-

  • "Selling off the family silver" is a British idiom for disposing of valuable, long-term assets for immediate, short-term financial gain. Popularised by former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1985 to criticise Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation policies, it evokes the image of an aristocratic family selling heirlooms to pay off debts. 
  • Origin: The phrase stems from the idea that when facing financial ruin, one first sells non-essential items, then furniture, and finally the cherished family silver.
  • Political Usage: It is used to criticize governments for selling state-owned assets, industries, or public land (e.g., council housing sites, public utilities) to reduce national debt or plug budgetary "black holes".
  • Broader Meaning: In a general sense, it describes the reckless depletion of vital resources, such as selling off public infrastructure or school land. 
  • While sometimes defended as a necessary, practical move to generate capital and improve efficiency, it is frequently criticised as short-sighted, leading to the loss of irreplaceable national assets.”

Further background to the Matford Huts site.

The area previously covered by the Matford Huts has been marked in the draft Local plan as a 'Brownfield'  site capable of accommodating 21 dwellings!  DCC says it is technically Greenfield and ECC says it is Brownfield, but DCC would love it to be designated as the latter because it is then worth a lot more to them for its development value.

On behalf of the SLNA I wrote to DCC to object to it being sold on the following grounds:-

  • The Local Plan being drawn up by Exeter City Council has not yet been finalised. Representations we and others have made have not been considered, we are told they will be in the Spring of 2026. Both of our representations concerned the way ECC had dealt with this piece of land when drawing up the Local Plan. DCC is required to get the ‘correct’ price when disposing of any assets it holds and that ‘correct’ price will be fixed after professional valuation. How can such a valuation be made when the future permitted use of the land is uncertain?
  • Breaking up the grounds of County Hall by the piecemeal selling of parts of it will destroy this locally listed heritage asset.
  • Local government reorganisation is creating an uncertain future for the use of County Hall, to cat now would be foolish.

It should be noted that this is not an application to build or develop in any way, this is just a notice of their intention to sell the land.

Representations have also been made to the National Planning Inspectorate over these matters (along with about 900 representations on other matters from organisations all over Exeter) and these will be considered in the Spring of 2026.