THE BBC’s decision to sell off its historic Caversham Park is ‘irresponsible’, it has been claimed.

The corporation announced on Wednesday that it would try and flog the iconic house and park, set in the heart of Caversham.

It is not applying for any form of planning permission.

The building is set in 93 acres of land with both the park and the building protected as heritage assets.

Tony Page, deputy-lead of Reading Borough Council blasted the decision saying the BBC was failing both tax payers and he town’s heritage.

“This is more like a episode of Flog It than Antiques Roadshow,” he said.

“It is unacceptable from a public interest point of view, as a licence fee payer and tax payer.

“They are attempting an approach that won’t maximise the value of the site.

“This is a bit similar to the problems with the prison because of the large historic significance associated with the site.”

Caversham Park has had a long and prestigious history and occupies a cherished place in the hearts of local people.

Believed to have been gifted to a relative of William the Conqueror in 1066, the park is recorded in the Domesday Book with a value of £20.

The BBC says the sell-off is part of its ongoing savings drive. It is not yet known how much Caversham Park will go for, or whom might snap it up, but the corporation says it wants to sell the entire package as one unit rather than offering smaller packages to multiple buyers.

Reading Borough Council is currently consulting on a new local plan. At present it estimates the house could become a site for up to 45 homes, but the park must be protected from development.

“There also used to be a number of public rights of way across the site,” Cllr Page continued.

“They have been blocked off or lost due to creative grounds keeping.

“I have instructed officers to look at old OS maps to see if they are there.

“I think it’s inresponsible to try and sell it without even an outline planning permission.

“If you look at other sales of this type they have a planning permission so you know what the land is worth.”

Since 1066 the property has been lost to the Crown during the War of the Roses, has been demolished and rebuilt several times (once after being destroyed by fire), has changed hands many times, has been landscaped by Capability Brown and has entertained royalty.

In 1921, the existing site was divided and the mansion and park became The Oratory School, undergoing a period of extension. Following expensive fire damage, other financial difficulties and WWII, it was purchased by the BBC in the 1940s and became the headquarters of BBC Monitoring.

Staff would transcribe and summarise 240 broadcasts per day into an 80,000-word document called the Daily Digest which was swiftly delivered to London by war despatch drivers.

BBC Monitoring played a key role in tapping communications made by Hellschreiber (a teleprinter) from Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, to newspaper and radio networks. A site outside London was chosen in part because it was less likely to suffer bomb damage and by the end of the war, 1,000 people worked at Caversham Park.

Philip Hunter, director at Lambert Smith Hampton, which is selling the park on behalf of the BBC, said: “This is an incredibly unique opportunity to purchase a prime site of such scale and location.

“It is 93 acres in the most affluent part of Reading, just two miles from the train station. It is suitable for a wide variety of uses, subject to planning consent, such as residential, retirement, assisted-care, hotel, leisure, education or healthcare.”

A BBC spokesman said: “The BBC is seeking offers for Caversham Park which are either conditional or unconditional on the buyer being granted planning consent before purchase.

"This will allow the BBC to get the maximum property value on behalf of the licence fee payer.”

Buyers can either take over the site as it stands or put in an offer to purchase on the condition they can first successfully acquire planning permission for a development.