What’s Next for 39 High Street
27th February 2019
Trying to figure out what comes next for the seriously dilapidated and dangerous living space atop 39 High Street is a bit like watching a three-way chess game in which only one party has signalled their strategy. We do know for sure that South Hams District Councillor, John Birch and the Totnes Council are pushing hard with South Hams District Council and Devon County Council for some answers as to when we can expect repairs to the property. Birch specifically has asked the SHDC what is stopping them from issuing one of two orders that insist the repairs would be done. The strategy that is unclear as of this juncture is the one being employed by the owner of the building, Belinda Cheng Nash-Smith, herself a real estate executive from the Dartmouth area.
Unavailable…
Ms. Nash-Smith has been unavailable for comment but the Pulse has uncovered several relevant points that shed light on her initial intentions. She recently advertised the property with an asking price of £175,000. She suggested to one interested party that the two-floor space could be renovated into two flats.
According to RightMove the property in June 2018 was purchased for £385,000 though it is unclear what aspects of the building this entails. Any new asking price would have to take into consideration the money needed to make the necessary repairs, which according to one contractor who inspected the property are quite substantial; “The place is a complete mess. There are areas with no flooring, the walls are coming down in places, there’s a hole in the roof and a foot of pigeon droppings underneath”, said the contractor who asked to remain anonymous.
Given the fact public safety has become an issue given tiles are now dropping off the front of the building, the first priority of local officials is to stabilize the building to stop the deterioration. That’s not going to be an easy job considering that scaffolding will be constructed and there’s a possibility that the retail operation on the ground floor might have to be closed for health and safety considerations.
The place is a complete mess
Urgent actions needed…
If, after not less than two months, it appears that reasonable steps are not being taken by the owner for the proper preservation of the building the authority can begin compulsory purchase proceedings to acquire the building from the owner.
In the meantime though there is a “third party” in this framework and that is the owner of the freehold on the downstairs portion of 39 High Street, currently occupied by the clothing store Eleven. The property is currently being offered as a long leasehold for £275,000. It is a bit up in the air whether that price will hold when you consider the retail space may need to be closed for at least a couple of months during repairs on the upstairs. By the same token, the downstairs property is going to be vulnerable to sustaining damage from the repair activity.
All in all, it’s going to be an interesting story to follow. So far, the Totnes Times has done a good job of staying on top of it. There will undoubtedly more to come…
Feel free to comment below…
| Nicholas Heath | I have information on this property, please feel free to contact me. |
Nicholas Heath is a builder, his partner Riina Tampere is an Estonian who used to teach tango in Totnes, now a home-maker. Does anyone in Totnes remember him and her?
The couple is currently being taken to County Court by their landlord for failure to pay 30 months unpaid rent totalling £34,456.00 for occupation of Nash-Smith s son’s residential property in Dartmouth. Heaths article is written in malice. Have you been the couples victim as well? If you were, please contact me at my email address below. When the Court finally decides to evict Nick Heath and Riina Tampere, you may want to remember their names because they never paid rent and are experts on loopholes in the law to remain in your property for years without paying any rent. Nick Heath’s information about 39 High Street is untrue. He wrote it in malice because he is bitter for being taken to Court. His son Marcellus committed suicide on 26 Feb 2021 and he blamed his landlord for the boys death. Nick Heath claims had his landlord not taken him to Court for failing to pay rent for 20 months in Nov 2020, he said he would have had more time with the boy instead of defending the claim, so the boy killed himself from neglect. Does that sound reasonable and logical to you? He neglected his son, he neglected paying rent, he crowd funded the boys funeral, while he kept every penny he earned for himself and his Estonian partner. Do you think Nick is decent? Or do you think he has no self-respect, dignity or integrity?
The “third party” he mentioned above is not a freeholder but merely a, lessee. The ground floor lease of 39 High Street did not fetch anywhere near the price Nick Heath claims. Nick Heaths article should be taken with a ton of salt because Heath is probably going to be made bankrupt by for failure to pay his rent of £34,456 and the cost is rising.
If Totnes Times newspaper wants the true reason for his article and the truth of Nick Heaths rental debt, Nash-Smith will happily oblige by posting a full front page in the Totnes Times of Nick Heaths landlord’s stamped Court Claim against the builder and his partner Riina Tampere…. or any interested newspaper to forewarn all potential landlords in the South Hams about this couple. Ms Nash-Smith has consistently and amicably conformed to every building recommendation guided by the Conservation Dept of South Hams Council. There is no dispute between Nash-Smith and the SHDC. Nash-Smith can be contacted by email on bnashsmith@icloud.com.
Please contact me from Bernadette Heath
I have information on this property, please feel free to contact me.
On the At Risk Register number 39 is described as follows :
39 High Street is a 3 storey, 17th Century, “deux corps de batiments” Merchants House.
The interior has good examples of decorated plaster ceilings.
The upper two-storeys are currently uninhabitable with a large amount of historic fabric lost due to neglect. The Conservation Department are in discussions with the owner to put a repair scheme in place, no way forward yet agreed.
(No date & a very dated photo on the page showing the place looking fine)
I contacted the Council about this because as an historic,listed building owner myself,it behoves the owner to do repairs.
Council Planning & Enforcement urge us to write in about this, to strengthen their case : Fiona Green
CASE 019419 to : enforcement.team@swdevon.gov.uk