Abandoned Grand Designs build in disused underground reservoir at auction for £600k

A disused underground reservoir that was scheduled for an ambitious development project featured on Grand Designs but then abandoned is up for auction with a guide price of £600,000.

The reservoir in Alsager in Staffordshire was decommissioned in the Sixties and had planning permission approved for a luxurious four-bedroom house in March 2019.

The current owner also set the foundations for the 8,000 square metre build and excavated the property’s walls and driveway from the original landscape.

Plans for the four-bedroom house included living space in the refurbished buried water tank, a new swimming pool, cinema and roof terrace.

The reservoir backs on to Alsager golf course and is surrounded by open countryside, close to the small market town of Alsager.

Kevin McCloud even visited the site during filming for Channel 4’s Grand Designs.

But after a year of ground work, the project was abandoned by its current owners who put it on the market earlier this year with an asking price of £850,000.

The unfinished development has now been put up for auction with a guide price of £600,000 via Auction House. It will open to bids in a 24-hour online auction on January 22 at 1pm.

The listing does not say how much it would cost to complete the build of the planned house but current images of the site show an entirely uninhabitable underground ex-industrial space with exposed breezeblock walls and damp concrete floors.

“This is a project for someone with great vision, boasting over 8000 square meters of property,” said a spokesperson for Auction House Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire.

“Set in rural part of Alsager with extensive views, it has development potential perfect for a builder/developer or home owner looking for their family home to make their own.”