AN entire street of 24 homes put up for sale by a charity leaving residents scared for their future has sold - for £2.5million.
Dock Road in Sharpness has been auctioned by the Canal and River Trust - and fetched a million more than expected yesterday, Thursday, November 8.
Deemed as an "incredibly popular" lot by the auctioneer the road was sold in less than five minutes with people making their offers online and on the phone.
The single lot - marketed by auction house Allsop - was described as a ‘rare unbroken street'.
It comprises of twelve terrace houses, eight semi-detached and two detached properties.
The sale included two semi-detached mixed use buildings, a single-storey workshop, three garages and 1.7 acres of vacant land.
One of the buildings was the Sharpness Post Office.
Tenants were informed of the sale through a letter from Allsop - and said they are 'shocked and worried' - adding that a new owner would likely increase rents.
A trust spokesperson dismissed the claim saying there "would be no change to the residents’ tenancies".
The street currently generates rents of about £168,000 for the Canal and River Trust.
She said: "We thought we would be here forever and now we don't know what the future holds.
"It is a shock - we have spent a lot of time getting the house the way we like. We might not be able to afford this home in the long term.
"It is a real concern. We have Christmas in the horizon. This is a lovely community and everybody gets along with each other.
“We may have to move again. We are not in a position to buy and rents are expensive - we really don’t want to leave if we don’t have to.
“I can’t imagine the rents will stay the same, they will maybe increase in line with private landlords.''
He added: "I would be sad to lose it here because I have done a lot of work inside and outside the house and I would be disappointed if I had to leave."
"It is a lovely little site down here - it is perfect for everyone and most people down here work in the docks anyway so this is ideal.
"I do like living here - my work is just around the corner two minutes from here."
"My parents are in their 60s and they don't want to be stressed out about moving out.
"We agreed to take this house as it was because the price was slightly cheaper."
Zoe Walker, 45, moved to her house on Dock Road in 2006 - she said if she is forced to leave she has 'nowhere to go'.
She said: "I have been on the council list for a long time but if you have a roof above your head you can't do anything about it.
"There is a lot of uncertainty - rent how much is going to go up by, if we are actually going to be kept as tenants. Nobody knows, we just got to wait and see.
"It could be a good thing or a bad thing - it depends who takes them on.
"They do need a lot of work so it is inevitable then they are going to put the prices up."
They said: "Our charity is in contact with residents about the sale of the properties along Dock Road.
"Our intention is that all the cottages will be sold together as a single lot to a single buyer.
"We understand that a change of ownership might seem unsettling, but in practice, whilst there will be a change of owner there won’t be a change to our resident’s tenancies i.e. nobody is required to leave their home and the properties will be sold on the same terms as the tenants have in place.
"We’ll keep in touch with our tenants as the sale process progresses."
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