Norwich's Wensum Lodge facing sell-off given ACV status

Jane Overhill submitted the Asset of Community Value bid

An adult education centre in Norwich slated to be sold off by the county council has been given extra protection.

Despite objections, the local authority is planning to sell Wensum Lodge, saying it is too large, with courses increasingly run online.

However it has been granted Asset of Community Value (ACV) status from Norwich City Council.

It means the community has six months to come up with a bid to purchase it.

Only then it can be put on the open market.

The Conservative-led county council insisted the status would not stop it from marketing the property.

Wensum Lodge has limited parking and is not on any bus routes, a report to the council said

The building is to be sold under plans to cut costs and run more courses online and at other local venues.

Wensum Lodge has been a centre of learning for decades, but Norfolk County Council said it found it was being "significantly under-utilised".

'Buys time'

Generations of adults have been taught maths and English, as well as skills like silversmithing and pottery, at the site since it opened in the 1960s.

The ACV bid was submitted by Labour activist Jane Overhill, after fears were raised by campaigners that it would lead to many courses coming to an end.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the move was not "a solution in itself" but helps buy time.

"It only gives the community a right to bid, not a right to buy. But at least it means we have to be told what is going on and there can't be a secret sale," she said.

A county council spokesman said: "We don't anticipate this impacting our plans for the Wensum Lodge site as we intend to keep the site operational until December 2023, with any potential sale taking place after that."