South Kesteven council pays £1.8m over market value for land in Stamford

The apparent error was made during meetings at the council's HQ

South Kesteven District Council paid way more than market value for land in a redevelopment project.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service land was bought for £8m, despite being valued at only £6.2m.

A "private" report was presented to the authority on 8 February with options for the next stages, the council said.

Planning permission was given in October 2021 for the Stamford site to be renovated.

The St Martin's Park redevelopment project on Barnack Road, which was formerly home to the Cummins factory site, will become a mixed-use area.

Plans include 190 homes, a retirement village with 150 houses, offices, workshops, a food shop and a cafe.

'Best intentions'

The council has committed £10.5m to the project, which includes the land purchase, £1.5m for demolition work, £500,000 for master planning, and £500,000 for premises maintenance.

The authority is also paying a monthly standing charge of £14,000 to maintain the power supply to the site.

Independent councillor, Phil Dilks, blamed the former Conservative administration for the "chaos and failure they left behind" after being voted out in last May's local election.

"The only people who have occupied that site [so far] are a group of travellers," he said.

The authority is now led by an independent coalition.

In response, Conservative councillor Graham Jeal, said the land had been purchased "to ensure that Stamford wasn't blighted by a failed industrial site".

Independent councillor Richard Cleaver agreed that the land had been purchased "with the best intentions" but said: "In its haste to buy the site, the council paid far too much for it."

Leader of SKDC, councillor Ashley Baxter, said the development was now being treated as a "key priority".

He said a "preferred solution" had been agreed based on "options set out in a commercially sensitive - and therefore private - report presented to the council meeting".

He added that the authority was working to "get the best result from the scheme" for residents in South Kesteven.