Council hopes not to lose money on Stamford land deal

The site in Barnack Road was the former home of the Cummins generator factory

A council leader says he hopes the authority will not lose money on a land deal.

South Kesteven District Council bought a former factory site in Stamford in 2020 to redevelop it with plans for homes, a retirement village, offices, workshops, shop and a cafe.

It paid £8m, despite the land being valued at only £6.2m.

Independent council leader Ashley Baxter said he thought the deal "was mishandled at the time".

"The council paid more than the asking price for the property," he said.

"It is our intention to try not to lose money on the deal, in fact, to maximise the income from the scheme."

The Barnack Road site was the home of the Cummins generator factory.

The council has committed £10.5m to the St Martin's Park redevelopment 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 council leader Ashley Baxter said he thought the deal "was mishandled at the time".

Mr Baxter said the advice was to buy the land directly from its owners to ensure it was a mixed development rather than just housing.

He added that at the time "as an opposition member, I was one that was asking difficult questions".

"I've got to say it hasn't delivered what we expected it to deliver," he said.

"I don't think we're at the stage where we can say to to the people of Stamford that this has been a success or a failure.

"Certainly it hasn't been the success as everybody predicted, but we continue to negotiate with everybody involved in order to make the best of the situation."