Fort Richmond is sold for £1m. – half its original asking price

Cooper Brouard estate agents announced that they sold the fort, which had been on the market for more than three years, on behalf of the States.

It first went on the market for more than £2m. in November 2015.

That year it had been advertised for sale in The Times and the Financial Times and although that generated significant interest, it was only recently sold.

The States approved the sale of the property originally in 2007 and in 2015 approved its transfer onto the Open Market register, once converted.

Planning permission to convert the former barrack block into a single unit of residential accommodation was granted in 2015.

Property Services understand that the purchaser intends to restore the building and convert it into residential accommodation.

The building itself is protected and planning polices should ensure that the special elements of the property will not be harmed, while at the same time allow sympathetic conversion into a dwelling.

‘Although challenging, the conversion project gives the purchaser a fantastic opportunity to create a unique home on the west coast and the project will inevitably provide opportunities for local business, contractors and suppliers,’ a States of Guernsey Trading Assets spokesperson said.

‘Property Services understand that the purchaser is not unfamiliar with challenging projects of this nature and is keen to progress with the venture as soon as is practicably possible.’

The protected monument had planning permission to be extended and converted into a single dwelling, but that lapsed after three years.

A new application was submitted last summer by Bembridge Limited and permission was granted on 17 May 2019 to change the fort’s use to residential, erect a second floor flat roof extension, create a first floor window to the west elevation and a door to the first floor east elevation.

Alterations to fenestration and internal changes were also approved, as well as an application to install a bridge over the moat to the first floor.

Fort Richmond was built in the 1850s as part of a series of fortifications on the west coast, but the sale now means islanders no longer have public access to the site.