The new Labour cabinet is expected to agree that three council-owned buildings can be put up for sale to bolster town hall finances.
The proposal before senior councillors is to sell the freehold of one building and a long lease on two others in support of Brighton and Hove City Council’s investment programme.
The buildings include an old bank branch, near the Royal Pavilion, a flat overlooking Churchill Square and an old workshop that was most recently used as a pupil referral unit (PRU).
The council wants to sell a 150-year lease on the former NatWest Bank branch at 8-11 Pavilion Buildings, allowing any future occupant to refurbish the premises.
NatWest left the site last September when its lease expired on the grade II listed building. The bank paid £100,000 a year for the whole building. It occupied the basement, ground and first floor and sublet part of the second floor.
A report to the council’s cabinet said: “There is no market demand for the use of the building as a high street bank and its future occupation will require a change of use.
“The heritage value of the site, its internal configuration and historic construction add significantly to the cost and risk of any refurbishment.”
The council is looking to sell a 125-year lease on a flat Arcade Buildings, on the south side of the Imperial Arcade, on the corner of Western Road and Dyke Road.
The flat is one of eight above a row of shops occupied by O2, Santander, Caffe Nero, EE and Three. Six of the flats have been sold on long leases and one has been let on a secure tenancy. The eighth is currently vacant.
The council’s housing department does not want the flat because it has a number of defects and needs extensive investment.
The council is looking to sell the freehold of 23-24 Montague Place, in Kemp Town, which was used as a PRU until 2013.
The empty unit is among a number of council and privately owned buildings used by a vehicle repair garage which already owns part of the site. The council owns the rest and has leased it to the garage.
The report to the cabinet said that the council and garage owners had discussed developing the site.
It said: “The complexity of the land interests has thwarted progress, not least because the owners of the vehicle repair garage require their business to be relocated or accommodated as part of the development.
“More recently they considered relocating to the (neighbouring) grade II listed building, also occupied as a vehicle repair workshop. However, that transaction did not proceed.”
The council’s estates regeneration team has looked at the site and does not consider it viable for affordable housing.
Commercially sensitive aspects of the proposed sales are set out in a separate confidential report.
The cabinet is due to meet at 2pm on Thursday (27 June) at Brighton Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
I see an opportunity for more student hosing on the horizon!
y’d need to, um, splash out on a refurb
– a pipedream…
Sorry, housing…
With the current temperatures rising, I’m more inclined to say the first version would be quite welcome!
selling the family silver plate
Have no issues with leases as long as they are on proper commercial terms but why sell land that could generate an income? I didn’t realise that the council still used brown envelopes!
Because you can also rid yourself of the maintenance of the building and associated costs. Businesses would be paying business rates anyway, and it would generate an influx of cash that could be used elsewhere in the city. Also, depending on the property in question, it may end up fulfilling a need in the city as well, so there’s plenty of benefits to such a tactic.
Once they’re sold, they’re gone forever. It may seem like an unnecessary expense today to get these properties up to standard but consider that outlay against the income from all the years from now until forever.
This should not be permitted. The properties must not be sold to anyone with even the most tenuous connections to councillors, staff, relatives, shell companies or ex girlfriends. Someone wants to make a killing and then pretend the council should have done the same.