THE controversial 3 Rivers Developments housing firm owned by Mid Devon District Council is still expected to cause an £8 million financial hit.

A fresh report shows that even though the size of the write-off linked to the developer has fallen, the total cumulative loss to the authority is currently £8.1 million.

Mid Devon District Council’s cabinet meeting heard last week that the amount being written off in the current financial year had dropped to £2.8 million from an expected £3.7 million a few months ago.

However, the council is spending £2.6 million on buying sites overseen by 3 Rivers, taking the total cost of the housing firm for the 2023/24 financial year to £5.4 million.

The council hopes that it will be able to sell the assets it has purchased to help fund services.

Mid Devon is buying Tiverton’s St George’s Court, which has properties for people over 60. The authority said it hoped the first tenants could be in by around April.

The council also said two houses had been sold at Hadden Heights, Bampton, and a further two units are close to exchanging. But five units at this development remain unsold.

The council has also bought a site at Knowle Lane, Cullompton, as well as a property called "Banksia".

The council loaned 3 Rivers a further £984,000 at the end of 2023, with interest charges of £172,000. The latest loan takes its total loans to the firm to just over £22 million.

The council is in the process of closing 3 Rivers down, after initially just preventing it from taking on new projects.

Bradley Gerrard

LDRS