Family's anger over fears they could lose home

Helen and Grant Wood were told Halsey Garton Residential planned to sell their home as a vacant property

A mother says she fears her family will be evicted as the local council seeks to sell their house on the open market.

Helen Wood has a long-term lease in Norbury Park near Mickleham but said Surrey County Council-owned company Halsey Garton Residential told her it wanted to sell the house as an empty property.

"Ridiculously, we can't buy it," she said, despite offering to purchase the house.

Cabinet member for property Natalie Bramhall said the council had "a statutory duty to ensure best value".

She also said the local authority had "followed a consistent approach over the past five years, selling its properties on the open market with vacant possession".

Councillor Bramhall added: "This ensures that we can secure the best possible return, which is vital for delivering essential public services to the wider community."

Mrs Wood told the Local Democracy Reporting Service her family is "devastated at the thought of losing the house".

"My 12 year old has asked why this is happening and we have tried to explain it to him, but even he says that it makes no sense," she said.

"They want to sell and we want to buy."

'Openness and transparency'

Mole Valley district, which includes Norbury Park, was one of three Surrey districts Rightmove named in June as having a fast-increasing proportion of million-pound homes.

Halsey Garton said it had offered new leases lasting until June "where appropriate" and tenants had been informed of the proposed sales.

There were no current eviction notices for Norbury Park properties, the company added.

Managing director Charles Maxlow-Tomlinson said the business was "actively engaging with tenants to listen to their concerns" and understood "how unsettling this situation can be".

"To ensure openness and transparency," he said, "when properties are placed on the open market for sale anybody can make an offer to purchase and the most proceedable offer will be accepted".

Norbury Park is a nature reserve that Surrey County Council purchased in 1930, with conservation managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust.