Following a decision by St Edmundsbury Borough Council last year to sell its offices on Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds, councillors will now be looking at how to get the best deal for the Council Tax payer.
Money raised from the sale of surplus buildings, such as the Borough Offices, is helping to fund the new West Suffolk House which will be shared with Suffolk County Council and is now being built as the first phase of the Public Service Village in Western Way, Bury St Edmunds. These new offices will, in turn, provide substantial savings for the Council Tax payer.
A report to next week's Cabinet (23 January) is recommending that St Edmundsbury varies its approach to selling the building so taxpayers can benefit from any future increase in the value of the site. The recommendation is to sell the property as it stands now by tender and for the purchaser to obtain any necessary planning consent for the future use of the site and carry out any work. The purchaser will enter into a legal agreement to share with the council any increase in the value of the site, either on formal completion of the sale of the property to the purchaser or on receipt of planning consent, if this is received after the sale.
Cllr Nigel Aitkens, Cabinet member for Economy and Asset Management, said:
"It seems a sensible way forward in many ways as it means we can tap into the expertise of the private sector to give us a guaranteed capital sum, but Council Tax payers don't lose out in the future if there is an increase in the value of the site. It also means we can get on with doing what we do well as a council, delivering services to our customers, and leave property development to the experts."
The Borough Offices is not a listed building, but it is in a prominent location in a conservation area which is part of the historic core of Bury St Edmunds. The Borough Council, as the local planning authority, will manage the development of the site through the development control process.
If Cabinet approves the recommendations in the report then it's likely that the tender process for the sale of the Borough Offices will be advertised in spring, with the selection of the successful tender taking place in summer and completion of the sale of the property to the purchaser early next year when staff vacate the offices and move into West Suffolk House.
ENDS
ISSUED BY MARIANNE HULLAND, COMMUNICATIONS UNIT, ST EDMUNDSBURY BOROUGH COUNCIL. Tel 01284 757034. marianne.hulland@stedsbc.gov.uk
