Historic Sketty Hall Cottage sold for twice the auction guide price

A COTTAGE nestled in one of Swansea’s leafiest parks has sold for £235,000, more than twice its auction guide price.

Swansea Council-owned Sketty Hall Cottage dates from the 1700s and attracted plenty of interest when it went under the hammer on Thursday. Money raised will be ploughed back into council services.

The former Gorseinon Nursery School sold for £164,000 at the same auction, as did a small plot of land at Ewart Place, Brynhyfryd, Swansea, for £49,000.

Sketty Hall Cottage, in Singleton Park, shares an access route with the adjacent grade two-listed Sketty Hall. It is believed to have been built as a coach house serving its larger neighbour during the 1700s. It has three ground floor rooms, an upstairs room, linked outbuildings and an enclosed garden. Plenty of work is needed to modernise it.

Its guide price, an element of which is to generate interest among potential buyers, was £100,000-plus.

Council leader Rob Stewart said: “I’m delighted that we were able to dispose of three surplus sites at auction, raising more than anticipated for the local taxpayer.

“It means that bright futures and new uses can be carefully considered by the new owners. Sketty Hall Cottage is part of Swansea’s heritage so I’m glad it’s been saved for future generations.

“In Gorseinon, pupils from the former nursery school are now taught in purpose-built new premises nearby. The small plot of land in Brynhyfryd has been fenced off for a number of years and can be put to better use.”

Jamie Clarke, a partner at Allsop, which held the auction, said: “Having secured strong interest among our network of investors, Sketty Hall Cottage proved to be equally as compelling under the hammer, selling for more than 200 per cent of its guide price.

“Its success is a reflection of the redevelopment opportunities it offers and the appeal of the area.”

Other assets disposed of by the council in recent years have included a section of playing field land at Olchfa School, also in Sketty, where planning approval has been granted for 101 houses and flats.

It has sought developer interest for years in one of its depots, Pipehouse Wharf, on Morfa Road. According to the council’s website, it is reviewing site development options for the four-acre plot.