PUBLIC parking spaces in Sidmouth could be sold to a private bidder for �120,000.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) is considering whether to cash in on six spaces in York Street as part of an ‘asset disposal’ programme.

EDDC’s Cabinet has recommended off-loading of the land following behind closed-doors talks at a meeting last week.

A final decision will have to be approved by full council, but the current proposal is to sell the spaces, subject to them continuing to be used to park cars.

Cabinet members’ recommendation also included putting in a ‘claw-back clause for half the uplift in value’ if the new owners of the land gain planning permission for development of the plot in the future.

Councillors considered a report from EDDC’s head of economy which set out the results of a ‘marketing and tender process’ under a Priority Disposal Programme.

They resolved to sell the freehold on the six York Street spaces, but did not reveal who to.

An EDDC spokesman said: “The sale of this site has not yet been completed, so we are not able to comment on any details about the buyer and future use.”

The council spokesman confirmed the site was one of a number earmarked in 2011 as assets for ‘possible disposal’, and added: “The claw-back clause is a routine device designed to ensure that the Council shares in any revaluation of a site caused by a change of use.”