Block Management in Sherborne
Eleven Grade I entries in one town, and class 5 radon in the centre.
Plymouth Block Management would act for Sherborne's residents' management companies, RTM companies and freeholders, handling block, estate and leasehold management. The council's appraisal records over 360 listed entries, eleven of them Grade I, which shapes how any external work is specified. The town centre returns radon class 5, while river exposure is light, with one warning area naming only New Road.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Sherborne
Obtain Listed Building Consent Before Specifying
The appraisal records over 360 listed entries in Sherborne, with ten Grade I in the town centre alone. For a listed block we would obtain listed building consent before specifying repairs, then run Section 20 consultation on a scheme that already has approval.
Major works and Section 20Establish the Scope of the Article 4 Directions
Two Article 4 directions sit inside the town, spelt Sherbourne in the council's register, with no start date or withdrawn rights published. Before external or boundary work we would establish their scope with Dorset Council rather than assume it.
ConsentsMeasure Radon in the Town Centre
The town centre returns class 5, 10 to 30 per cent of homes at or above the action level, where measurement is advised. We would arrange measurement in ground-floor communal areas of a central block and record the results on the compliance file.
ComplianceSurvey Subdivided Houses in Sherborne East
Sherborne East carries 72 of the town's 90 converted and shared house flats. For a converted building there we would start with a full inspection and set the reserve fund plan from what it finds.
Reserve fundsManaging a Block in Sherborne at a Glance
- Local authority
- Dorset Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Dorset Council Building Control
- County
- Dorset
- Fire and rescue service
- Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- Wessex Water
- From our Plymouth office
- About 81 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Sherborne to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
Over 360 Listed Entries, Eleven of Them Grade I
One conservation area mapped in ten separate parts. The principal part dates from 29 April 1970, six further parts from 22 June 1989 and three more from 11 November 2008. The council's appraisal describes extensions in 1989, 1993 and 2008, but the 1993 extension has no separate boundary in the national mapping. A block's status should therefore be confirmed with the council, not from the map alone, before external works are specified.
The council's appraisal records over 360 listed building entries including three scheduled monuments, eleven Grade I entries and fourteen Grade II* structures. These take in the Abbey and its conventual and school buildings, a number of medieval domestic buildings, gentry houses of quality, vernacular cottages and specialised civic and industrial buildings. There are also over 60 unlisted buildings or groups of quality and character. The appraisal breaks this down by sub-area. The town centre has 125 entries, of which ten are Grade I and seven Grade II*. The Newland, Long and Hound Streets area has 119, all Grade II apart from the Grade I Sherborne House and five Grade II*. The northern and western entry routes have 100, all Grade II apart from two Grade II*. Castleton and Oborne Road have 16, all Grade II. Historic England's current data for the parish runs a little higher at 379 entries with twelve Grade I and sixteen Grade II*. For a listed block, any listed building consent the works need should be in place before major works are put to leaseholders, so that consultation runs on an approved scheme.
Converted Flats East, Purpose-Built Blocks West
Sherborne splits across two town wards of a normal size. Sherborne West held 2,478 households with 356 in flats, 14.4 per cent. Sherborne East held 2,218 households with 361 in flats, 16.3 per cent. The surrounding Sherborne Rural ward held 2,185 households with just 43 in flats, 2.0 per cent. Taking the two town wards together gives 4,696 households and 717 flats, 15.3 per cent. Sherborne East carries 72 of the town's 90 converted and shared house flats, so the subdivided historic stock sits on one side of the town and the purpose-built blocks on the other. Converted buildings in the east are likely to need a full inspection before a reserve fund plan is set.
Light River Exposure, Reaching Only New Road
River exposure is light. Only one Environment Agency flood warning area touches Sherborne, covering the River Yeo from Sherborne to Yeovil. It runs from New Road in Sherborne downstream to the Old Mill Farm area near Yeovil, taking in Smiths Bridge near Bradford Abbas, Yeovil Junction station and Newton Surmaville. It names exactly one Sherborne street and no town-centre streets at all, so the risk sits at the edge of town rather than in the centre. Above it sits the south east Somerset rivers upper reaches alert. No named, dated or costed defence scheme exists, and no Sherborne-specific surface water statement is published. The Environment Agency also publishes a groundwater flooding area for the Sherborne St John area, which is in Hampshire and is a different place entirely. A block away from the warning area is unlikely to face a river flood question from insurers, while one near New Road should state its position.
Class 5 Radon in the Town Centre
The town centre returns class 5, a maximum radon potential of 10 to 30 per cent of homes at or above the action level, and radon measurement is advised. Across the surrounding squares the classes that appear are the lowest band, class 2, class 4 and class 5, with class 3 skipped. Sherborne pairs light river exposure with high radon. A block in the centre should have radon measured in ground floor flats and communal areas, with the results kept on the compliance record.
Two Article 4 Directions Whose Scope Must Be Confirmed
Decided under the joint West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Local Plan, adopted by West Dorset District Council on 22 October 2015, running to 2031. There is no made neighbourhood plan, and Sherborne does not appear on Dorset Council's register of made plans. Two Article 4 directions sit inside the town itself. The council spells them Sherbourne in its register, but their mapped positions place both in Sherborne. Neither a start date nor the rights withdrawn are published for either. For a block near them, their scope has to be established with the council before external or boundary works are specified.
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Sherborne Questions
Is Sherborne at Much Risk of River Flooding?
River exposure is light. The one Environment Agency warning area touching the town covers the River Yeo from Sherborne to Yeovil, starting at New Road, and names no town-centre streets. No named defence scheme exists. Note that the groundwater area for Sherborne St John is in Hampshire and has nothing to do with this town.
Does Sherborne Have a Neighbourhood Plan?
No. Sherborne does not appear on Dorset Council's register of made neighbourhood plans. Applications are decided under the joint West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Local Plan, adopted by West Dorset District Council on 22 October 2015 and running to 2031. The two Article 4 directions inside the town also apply where relevant.
How Is the Sherborne Conservation Area Arranged?
One conservation area is mapped in ten separate parts. The principal part dates from 29 April 1970, six parts from 22 June 1989 and three from 11 November 2008. The appraisal also describes a 1993 extension that has no separate polygon in the dataset, so checking a block's status against the map alone may not be enough.
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