Council land sells for eight times its guide price

The plot of land in Thornton had a guide price of £35,000

A plot of land owned by Bradford Council has sold for more than eight times its guide price at an online auction.

The four-acre site off Green Lane in Thornton had a guide price of £35,000 but was sold on Wednesday morning for £286,000.

It was one of two council-owned properties to go under the hammer, with a fire-ravaged house in Keighley also selling for way above the guide price.

The lots were among a number of council assets being sold to meet the requirements of the "extraordinary financial support" being provided by the government.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the support allowed the authority to borrow money to balance its books.

However, it also required the council to sell off millions of pounds worth of assets and use the income from those sales to fund day-to-day services like social care.

The plot was described in the listing to be freehold land primarily comprising of open grassland.

"Subject to any necessary consents, the land may be suitable for a number of uses," it added.

It is believed the land is part of the former Bradford sewage works, which have not been used since Yorkshire Water took over the sewage network decades ago.

Details of the successful bidder have not been revealed.

A fire-damaged property also sold for well above guide price

Also sold at the Pugh property auction was 26 Rupert Street in the Lawkholme area of Keighley.

The mid-terraced property was gutted by a blaze in 2010 and has been empty since.

The house had a guide price of £30,000 but ended up selling for £80,000.

The listing said: "The property has suffered fire damage and as such has not been inspected, and is sold as seen."

One condition of the sale was that the buyer would need to bring the home to a habitable state within a year – or the council could buy back the property.

Other council lots that were initially listed in the auction, including the former Prince of Wales Park lodge in Bingley, were moved to another auction due to be held next month.

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