FIVE council-built homes in Jaywick have failed to sell on the open market.

Tendring Council built ten new homes in Lotus Way as part of a bid to regenerate the village's Brooklands area.

Five of the new homes are now council housing while the other five houses were to be sold with a price-tag of £200,000 - a discounted price for key workers.

But the price was still considerably higher than other nearby properties on the market.

Paul Honeywood, cabinet member for housing, had said the independent-assessed value reflected "the high quality of the build, the beautiful location and the sea views".

After more than a year of failing to sell the five properties, a report is set to go before the council's cabinet on Friday to recommend alternative options for the vacant dwellings.

The recommended option is to retain the homes as part of the council’s housing stock.

A report by council officers said: "Renting the homes will result in them being occupied quicker and they will be let to households in need on the Housing Register.

"However, the council has publicly stated the homes are for sale and not rent which could affect its reputation.

"Converting the homes into social rented homes may require the council to pay back the grant it received under the Starter Homes funding initiative."

To date the cost of building the ten homes in Jaywick has totalled £3.3million.

The report added: "Officers obtained valuations from local estate agents who have valued the properties on the open market at a value between £175,000 and £195,000 which are lower than the discounted price that they are currently being marketed at.

"There is a concern the properties are currently over-valued.

"A formal valuation was obtained for the purposes of setting the rents on the rental homes and the properties were valued at that time as having an open-market valuation of between £160,000 to £175,000.

"Disappointingly, there has been very little interest from potential buyers who are eligible to purchase the properties according to the terms of the policy."