You know me, and my obsession with lock and canal cottages. A few weeks ago British Waterways put up for sale a tiny little cottage on North Stratford Canal at Yardley Wood, near Birmingham, right next to two boat waterpoints.
The building itself is tiny, but it's got almost an acre of ground attached, and the guide price was £120,000, on sale via Caldecotte Consultants.
Google maps location here, but the acre of ground is so overgrown that the Bing aerial view is the only way you'll see the building.
I've since learned it's been taken off the market again, following vandalism and a small fire at the back. "We're awaiting further instructions from the vendors," said the estate agent today.
On my way down the North Stratford Canal the weekend before last, I halted there for water, and was immediately joined by another boat. We shared one waterpoint as the other wasn't working.
Summary
We are instructed on behalf of British Waterways to offer For Sale this freehold canalside cottage fronting onto the towpath of the North Stratford Canal in Yardley Wood, circa 6 miles south of Birmingham city centre.
Also included are surrounding gardens & woodland extending to circa 0.80 acre. The existing 2 bedroom cottage would benefit from a schedule of improvements or could be viewed as offering scope for development (subject to planning permission).
Ahem, that 'scope for development' is putting it politely. The cottage windows and doors have been sealed by metal plates, the whole building is, covered in graffiti, and a lean-to shed at the back has been burned up.
Description
An extended two storey detached canalside cottage offering 2 interconnecting bedrooms & first floor bathroom, 2 receptions & kitchen plus stores attached at rear.
Also included are the immediate gardens & surrounding woodland shown on the attached plan. The sale will include an overage provision in the event of additional residential or commercial development.
I'd never heard of an 'overage provision' before. It appears to be a way of claiming a share of any future profit you might make on the profit. Definition here.
Put more bluntly: We need to sell it now for a pittance, but if you manage to get planning permission for more houses in the garden, we want to claw back some of your profit later.
Pretty sensible on BW's part, I suppose.
The cottage ought to be quite delightful in its rural setting. But the garden is so overgrown it was impossible to photograph as a whole. This building is like Little Red Riding Hood's gingerbread house, snug in its privacy. The boater behind me said he wouldn't care to tarry here as the area had a dubious reputation for vandalism (presumably from wicked wolves.)
He turned out to be a West Midlands policeman, so I assumed he'd know. And sure enough, the little cottage is not only sealed off with metal screens over doors and windows, but plastered with graffiti too.
But for all the 'inner city' ambience, I think this cottage would be a wonderful place to live once it was being looked after. Call me naive, but if the house was cared-for and the garden cut back, I'm sure they'd leave the area alone. And it would be a nice place for boats to moor overnight too.
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