CASH-strapped West Somerset Council could lose thousands of pounds in an apparently failed attempt to provide affordable housing in Dulverton.

The authority has put the Barnsclose Business Units up for sale with an asking price of £130,000, just four years after buying them at a total cost of £140,000.

Cabinet members were told last Wednesday that the units were in a poor state of repair, plagued by flies and rodents and cost the council £2,000 a year in pest control and general maintenance.

However, the authority could not afford to bring the units fully up to scratch, only two of the four were let and that brought in an annual income of just over £7,500.

Councillors were told the units had been in a poor state when they were bought back in 2007 and their use was heavily restricted due to their location in the middle of a residential area.

Cllr Steven Pugsley said he presumed the units had been bought with the intention of flattening the site and developing it for affordable housing.

But cabinet members were told the authority had been beaten to it by a local housing association which had already met the identified need for affordable homes in Dulverton with a new housing development nearby.

As the site was within Exmoor National Park, no open-market homes could be built on the land, while affordable properties were only allowed if there was a proven need for them.

Deputy council leader Cllr Chris Morgan said he was "ashamed" the authority was charging anyone rent for the rundown units, while Cllr Dave Westcott said there was little demand for small business units in West Somerset at the moment.

The authority purchased the units from the South West Regional Development Agency for £130,581 in 2007, but the total cost of the project came in at £140,000.

The units will now be marketed with an asking price of £130,000 by Cluff Commercial Ltd, who would charge a fee of two per cent plus VAT.