Middlesbrough Council bought derelict Crown pub without survey

A structural survey was not carried out before a North East council paid £750,000 for a dilapidated building, it has been revealed.

Middlesbrough Council purchased the former Crown pub in January.

However, the now Labour-run council has launched a review to determine if the purchase was an "asset or a liability".

Responding to a Freedom of Information request, the council said it had undertaken due diligence into the vendors and the financial arrangements around the deal.

It added that an inspection had been carried out ahead of the purchase.

Last month, a path alongside the pub was cordoned off while work is done to ensure the building is structurally sound and the stretch remains closed.

Middlesbrough's recently appointed mayor Chris Cooke, of Labour, described the lack of a structural survey as a "worrying sign".

He said: “You wouldn’t do that if you were buying a house. So why wouldn’t you do that on a building that hasn’t been in use for several years?

"Good due diligence is important.”

'Common sense'

Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald, also Labour, said it would have been "common sense" to conduct a structural survey as the building had been unused since 2015.

He backed the review announced earlier this week by the council's chief executive Clive Heaphy, who was not in post at the time of the purchase.

In its reply to the FOI submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council said estimates were made regarding how much it would cost to bring the building back into commercial use for a number of scenarios.

It refused to share those projected costs as it considered the information exempt.

Suggested uses for the space include an indoor marketplace and cultural performance venue.

At the time of the deal, no single party had overall control of the council.

Middlesbrough's then mayor Andy Preston, an Independent, said the building was part of the town's history and needed to be saved.

He declined to comment when asked about the lack of a survey.