Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance and the Director of Finance submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to provide information on the proposal to dispose of the Council’s freehold interest in land adjacent the former Middlesbrough Warehouse Site.

Shown edged red on plan VAL 6048, attached at Appendix A of the submitted report, the subject property was situated on James Street occupying an irregular shaped site measuring @ 3.21 Acres [1.55 Ha], in a visually prominent position adjacent the A66 at North Ormesby.

An Asset Disposal Business Case (ADBC), confirming the status of the subject property as surplus to operational Council requirements, was attached as Appendix C to Part B of the report.

In accordance with the ADBC, Align Property Partners had been instructed to market the site for sale on behalf of the Council and to invite unconditional offers for the Council’s freehold interest by 20 November 2020.

Marketing commenced in early September. Align reported a very healthy interest in the site, which had resulted in nine offers being submitted by the closing date and those were outlined in Part B of the report.

OPTIONS

Re-use for operational purposes - No Council operational service requirement had been identified.

Other uses - Although the property was capable of being used for other purposes, future use of the site for industrial/commercial purposes as proposed by the Buyer, was preferred.

Do nothing - The Council would not have received a significant capital receipt and the property would have remained in its present state. Whilst the subject property would have been retained for potential Council use in the future, the liability and responsibility for maintaining and holding the property would have remained with the Council in the interim.

ORDERED

That the information contained in Part A of the report be noted and that the decision be taken once all the financial or exempt information contained in Part B of the report had been considered.

REASONS

In order to meet the Council’s requirements to generate capital receipts, increase annually recurring revenue streams and to bring the subject property into a far more beneficial use in the future.

The disposal of the subject parcel of land as proposed supported delivery of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan.