Sale of council-owned buildings and land in Kettering, Wellingborough, Rushden and Desborough could raise millions
The sale of council-owned land and buildings in Kettering, Wellingborough, Rushden and Desborough could raise millions of pounds for cash-strapped services.
North Northamptonshire Council’s (NNC) executive will meet next week to discuss the sale of five sites identified as ‘no longer needed’ by the council that could raise up to £7m.
If agreed, Jacksons Lane car park and Phase 2 Glenvale Park fields in Wellingborough, Saunders Close land in Kettering, land at the corner of Rectory Road and John Clark Way, Rushden, and sheltered housing flats in Beech Close, Desborough could all be sold off.
Ownership of the five sites was passed on to NNC after the switch to unitary – inherited from the legacy Kettering Borough, East Northants District and Wellingborough Borough councils.
Cllr Ken Harrington, NNC’s executive member for assets, waste and environmental services, said: “As a council, we are continuously reviewing our portfolio to ensure it remains value for money, whilst meeting our objectives.
“Residents should be assured that the sites identified in the report have been through a rigorous process before they get to this stage - including looking at potential uses and speaking with local ward councillors."
Jacksons Lane car park has been at the heart of development plans in Wellingborough town centre for two decades, with plans being shelved by The Borough Council of Wellingborough in 2020.
In 2018, more than 5,000 residents signed a petition, organised by the then MP Peter Bone, against the housing plans for the site off High Street.
The proposed sale of the Jacksons Lane car park would ‘support the work of the town centre masterplan for Wellingborough’.
NNC says the site would provide an opportunity for a ‘mixed-use scheme’ that would address ‘long-standing anti-social behaviour in the area, regenerate underutilised parts of the site, whilst still retaining important community parking spaces’ within the development. It has given a capital value of £1.2m.
The 13.6 hectares of farmland that forms Phase 2 of the Glenvale Park estate off Niort Way in Wellingborough has been valued at £5m.
Another plot on the corner of Rectory Road and John Clark Way in Rushden could bag the council £50k. It is currently being rented for storage by Rushden Historical Society for £240 a year.
At the January meeting of the executive, it was agreed that the existing buildings – The Henley Centre – in Saunders Close, Kettering would be demolished to address anti-social behaviour and ‘support future development opportunities’.
The council believes a disused sheltered housing complex – Beech Close in Desborough – could generate interest from private and care and health service providers as well as residential developers, and might ‘generate a capital receipt in excess of £900,000’.
A spokesman for NNC said: “If the executive report is approved, sites would be prepared for sale. However, officers within the council’s housing team have been assessing the feasibility of utilising Saunders Close and Beech Close sites for council housing - these sites will be subject to further financial appraisal before they are marketed for sale.”
The spokesman added: “At the core of the council’s recently approved corporate plan is improving the local economy, creating jobs, ensuring better housing provision and being efficient with our assets.
“All sites proposed for sale have been reviewed to consider council service need, the current use and opportunities they present for private sector development, which would result in additional jobs and longer-term solutions for employment in the area.
“Identifying opportunities to bring surplus council assets to the market not only reduces inefficient holding costs but promotes economic and social outcomes for the benefit of North Northamptonshire.”
Cllr Martin Griffiths, leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said: “We are keen to ensure that communities across North Northamptonshire are safe for residents, whilst providing opportunities for regeneration and disposing of these surplus assets will help towards achieving this overall aim.”
NNC’s executive will meet on Tuesday, February 17 at 10am at the Corby Cube.