Council names 76 sites as it plans to sell assets

Remaining land at the former Middlefield Lane School site in Gainsborough, part of which has already been developed, is among assets earmarked for disposal

A former school site and a youth hostel are among dozens of assets earmarked for disposal by Lincolnshire County Council.

A total of 76 sites, including offices, traveller sites and council-owned farmland, have either been earmarked for disposal or review as part of a revenue savings plan for the authority.

Other properties that could go include Sleaford County Offices, Lincoln Crown House and a former RAF mortuary hangar in Woodhall Spa.

The sale of the sites could generate £16m for the authority over the next three years, with predicted annual savings of £1.6m in running costs, a meeting heard.

The county council has published a list of the properties included in the review.

Councillor Liam Kelly, executive member for growth at the Reform-led authority, told a meeting of the growth committee on Tuesday that he wanted to "maximise revenue for council taxpayers", as well as social value.

The authority would look into selling sites to community groups and trusts "where appropriate".

However, Kelly added: "I know examples in the past where a property was sold and didn't get the best value.

"It was then rented back to the council and the owner recovered costs within two years from the taxpayer. That will not be repeated again."

'Wrong hands'

The meeting also heard concerns about a lack of scrutiny, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

An amendment by opposition councillors, stating any potential sales would be brought back to the committee for debate, was passed.

Councillor Tom Dyer (Conservative) said: "This isn't more red tape, it's about democratic accountability."

He told the meeting potential buyers needed to be "carefully vetted" to ensure "buildings don't fall into the wrong hands".

"We've had previous interest from county lines gangs [drug networks] in the past.

"We don't want the Home Office to buy them for temporary asylum-seeker accommodation, or end up with land covered with solar panels either."

A total of 81 properties were sold under the previous Conservative administration over the last four years, raising a total of £19m.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices