A £2.5 million home won in a charity prize draw is back on the market after seven months amid claims that the house is prone to flooding.
Darren Wordon won the five-bedroomed house in a competition run by Omaze, a company which specialises in raising money for charities by offering luxurious gifts to winners of their lotteries.
The mansion, Willowbrook House, sits between two historic listed properties. It hit the headlines when it became the prize in Omaze’s fundraiser for the Prince’s Trust.
Mr Wordon and his wife Mandy were presented with the house in a glitzy video featuring ticker-tape and emotional music last June, along with a cheque for £500,000.
However, the house was back up for sale on Sunday.
Residents of Radford, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, revealed that the house had been plagued with flooding issues and had been on the market for years. Darren Wordon’s victory was filmed for a promotional video for Omaze, which ran the auction Credit: Doug Peters/PA Wire Julia Boardman, who has lived in the secluded hamlet since 1968, said: “This valley has been flooding for hundreds of years. It is just the natural way of things.
“Before, there was just a cottage at the side of the plot that never flooded and the water was able to flood down and drain slowly away in the stream. Then they built this horrendous house.”
Mrs Boardman added: “They built this about five years ago and they only got planning permission because of a loophole. The local council was so weak it never managed to stop it and we ended up with this house.”
On Sunday, another resident said that the winning family “were keen to make a go of it” but had concerns about floods.
It has now been relisted with Savills, the estate agency, for the same price as before the competition.
At the time, locals claimed that they had warned the developer, Palladian Properties, before construction began on the five-bedroom house. Locals claimed that they had warned the developer, Palladian Properties, before construction began on the five-bedroom house began. Mrs Boardman claimed it flooded on Oct 4 and Dec 23 2020, before Omaze knew about the property.
She said: “The water got so high – it was nearly halfway up the gate post – that it was going to flood the neighbour’s house. We had to make a gap in the wall opposite so the water could flow out.” James Oakes, the senior vice president – international at Omaze, claimed there had been some “blockage” but that it has been put right. He said the flood in December was a “non-event” and the house is in “incredible condition”. He said: “We are going into this in good faith. Photos can be misleading and I am aware there are some neighbours who are not happy.”
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