Council to sell car park and toilets for £1 each

The car park on Main Street in Littleport is one of four assets being sold for £1

A council could sell four assets for just £1 each in a bid to keep them in community use.

East Cambridgeshire District Council has agreed to sell two buildings, a car park and an area of open space in Littleport, near Ely, to the town council, because of concerns they could go to the highest bidder when the authority is dissolved.

Under plans for local government reorganisation, the district council will cease to exist in 2028 and a new unitary authority will take over its responsibilities and any buildings it owns.

A report on the assets was presented to a meeting of the finance and assets committee, which supported the sale.

They include The Barn, in Main Street, which is leased to the town council and is used as its offices.

Public toilets in Main Street could also be sold for £1, with a payment also made by the district council of £20,829 - the equivalent of one year's running costs.

A car park in Main Street could also go, with a restriction to stop parking charges being introduced.

The fourth asset is an area of open space in Parsons Lane, which the report said was "of strategic importance for the future expansion" of St George's Medical Centre.

The report said in all four cases the town council had agreed to a restriction that it would not sell them for residential or commercial purposes.

'Huge ambitions'

David Miller, a Conservative councillor who represents Littleport, asked to add an amendment that the car park could not be used for any other purpose, which was agreed by the committee.

He said: "Granting this request seems the best way of ensuring the assets remain where they belong, in the hands of Littleport Town Council for its community."

Christine Colbert, a Liberal Democrat councillor who represents Ely West, said she had "reservations" about town councils taking over buildings the district council had paid for, and questioned whether this was fair for the rest of the district.

Anna Bailey, Conservative leader of the district council, who represents Downham, said the town council had "huge ambitions" for Littleport and was already delivering on them.