National Trust turns historic cottages into empty eyesores

A villager who lives near the farmhouse said Sherborne was “becoming a total mess” and Lord Sherborne “must be turning in his grave”.

The Daily Telegraph reports that people living on the National Trust’s Sherborne Estate in Gloucestershire are unhappy with the way the estate is managed. This follows anger at the neglect of the Sherborne Broadwaters, once the centrepiece of a picturesque historic landscape, but now choked with weeds.

THE National Trust has been accused of letting 11 historic cottages crumble into eyesores on a Cotswolds estate.

The Telegraph has identified a number of properties on the charity’s sprawling Sherborne Park Estate in Gloucestershire that are unoccupied and have fallen into disrepair.

Some of the homes – with up to five bedrooms and views over the rolling Gloucestershire hills – have missing tiles, windows with rotting timber and front doors in need of replacement.

The properties that do appear to be undergoing repairs feature ugly scaffolding and marks on discoloured exteriors where ivy appears to have been torn down. The charity has been accused of “gross mismanagement” for allowing them to fall into such disrepair, with villagers demanding to know why it has not found tenants.

“Sherborne is a highly desirable area and thousands of families would be delighted to be able to rent any one of these properties,” said one resident.

“However, for some reason, despite a national housing shortage, the trust hasn’t been able to put anyone in them.”

The trust confirmed that 11 properties did not have tenants but claimed one was advertised recently and will be occupied soon. Houses in Sherborne cost an average of £894,975 last year, according to Rightmove, the property website, and homes are rented for between £1,500 to £4,000 a month.

The trust owns about 80 houses on the estate, which was bequeathed by the 7th Earl of Sherborne in the 1980s.

But an increasing number of the properties have been left empty in recent years, according to residents, with at least two homes said to have been unoccupied for the past decade.

One five-bedroom, detached stone building with views of open countryside would fetch about £3,000 a month in rent, but has remained empty since its previous tenants moved out 10 years ago, The Telegraph understands.

A look along the ridgeline of the roof reveals several missing ridge tiles and the occasional missing slate.

A neighbour, one of many who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It would take a competent builder less than a month to get it ready for new tenants, but the National Trust do nothing.

“Instead, this beauty of a building is going to carry on losing slates and tiles until the roof eventually gives way.

Other locals vented frustration, saying it felt as though the trust only cared about rewilding projects and funding their cafes.

Less than half a mile away, a farmhouse also stands empty after its previous tenant moved out. Nearby outbuildings appear dilapidated, and fences and gates around fields are broken down, leading to frequent escapes by sheep, residents said.

A villager who lives near the farmhouse said Sherborne was “becoming a total mess” and Lord Sherborne “must be turning in his grave”.

Nearby, two properties have stood empty, for one year and three years respectively.

They are said to have been in pristine shape when the last tenants left, but are now in need of repairs, mainly to roofing and windows.

In the heart of the village, on a stretch of road by the village primary school and shop, several homes have been empty for months.

The trust is understood to have a maintenance programme for properties that are currently let to tenants. It spent about £900,000 on the residential let estate at Sherborne Park Estate in the current financial year, including upgrading kitchens, bathrooms, heating systems and insulation.

A National Trust spokesman said: “It’s not true that we aren’t letting homes because we are unwilling to deal with tenants. The National Trust re-let six properties on the Sherborne Park Estate last year.

“Of those properties without tenants, one will soon be occupied and the others are either in the process of having works tendered and instructed, or we are seeking or agreeing the funds for their renovation and maintenance.”

A reader comments: ‘The spokesman’s excuses rather expose the fact that this is simply down to poor estate management. Why aren’t they making these assets work for the charity, let alone being in gainful use for conservation purposes?’