Victorian lodge sale to ease council's budget woes

Prince of Wales Park Lodge in Bingley is registered as a village green

A derelict lodge at the entrance to a Grade II listed park is to go under the hammer to help a council address its budget issues.

Prince of Wales Park Lodge, in Bingley, was built in the 1880s as accommodation for a park keeper and is owned by Bradford Council.

The building has been vacant for a number of years and was recently listed as one of over 150 assets the council planned to sell off, in a bid to balance its budget.

The lodge and its gardens are set to be auctioned online on 26 August by Pugh, with a guide price of £160,000.

Bradford Council is one of 30 local authorities across England to have been given "exceptional" financial support by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

The city has been on the financial brink for the past two years and narrowly staved off bankruptcy last March, following an emergency package from government.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the listing for the lodge describes it as "a rare renovation project" located at the south-western boundary of the Prince of Wales Park.

It also points out that the lodge and its gardens are classed as "a village green".

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