More land sales to boost council funds

A detached property being used as office premises is being sold off by Bradford Council

Bradford Council has added two more of its assets to a list of properties it hopes to sell in an attempt to balance the books.

Ministers agreed to grant Bradford Council £220m of "exceptional financial support" to avoid it effectively going bankrupt in March.

The authority drew up a list of more than 150 assets that it planned to sell, with the sale set to bring in £2.6m if guide prices are met.

It has added the former Branshaw School site in Keighley and the freehold of 207 Cutler Heights Lane in Bradford to the list, with both due to be auctioned this week.

The cleared site of a former school is to be sold in sales of land and properties by Bradford Council

However, other asset auctions due to take place this week, including a vacant swimming pool, have been pushed back a month.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said a number of properties and assets owned by the authority were being sold in a push to raise millions to keep itself afloat.

Some of these are to be sold in an online auction this week, with further sales in October.

The 1.28 acre site of the former Branshaw School on Oakworth Road in Keighley had previously had planning permission for 25 residential dwellings.

It has a £160,000 guide price, according to Pugh Auctions.

The freehold of 207 Cutler Heights Lane, which is currently used as offices, has a guide price of £92,000.

Land at Flappit Springs has been given a guide price of £5,000

Lots pushed back to next month’s auction include the former Rhodesway Swimming Pool in Allerton and two former care homes: Valley View House on Lister Lane and Thompson Court in Bingley.

Further assets added to the auction on 16 October include a plot of land on Whinfield Drive in Keighley which was was once home to a set of high-rise flats demolished in 2001.

The site, which has a guide price of £150,000, has remained empty ever since, but has been allocated for housing in the council’s draft local plan, which says the land is capable of producing 39 homes.

The council also hopes to sell of a 0.7 acre site at Flappit Springs on Halifax Road, near Cullingworth, which has a guide price of £5,000.

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