Northamptonshire council approves disposal of unused assets

A former care home, a pocket park and several unused buildings will all be sold off by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) as it looks to shrink its estate and raise funds.

The authority said it would be "beneficial" to dispose of the seven sites to reduce maintenance costs and secure better uses of land for local communities. It explains that there is a risk of vandalism and financial impacts of holding a property empty if nothing is done.

The sites that are on the chopping block include former care home Ridgway House in Towcester, seven acres of land in Dallington Grange earmarked for 100 affordable homes, and a brownfield site directly behind the Mereway Ambulance Station which used to house a base for the Museum of London Archaeology. You can see the full list of assets here.

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Cabinet member for finance, Cllr Malcolm Longley described the disposals as a "tidying up of the portfolio".

The report outlines proposals to dispose of a number of non-operational buildings and small parcels of land that have no identified use by the authority. Where capital receipts would be generated, these would aid the WNC's ability to fund capital works or transformational revenue work.

The Riverside Resource Centre in Towcester won't be sold on by the council despite it pulling its adult day care facilities from the building. Instead, it will be classified as a building for community use for groups such as the Community Larder and only a small detached building on the site will be thrown out of the portfolio.

WNC also went into private session to discuss the sale of a brownfield site which is currently in its ownership. The exact location of this has been kept confidential within council documents, but members did reveal that the land is in Daventry.

Cllr Adam Brown, Leader of WNC, said: "We're always reviewing what assets are best had by the council and what can be better managed by parish or town councils. It's not a responsible approach to taxpayers' money just to sit on an asset, particularly if it costs money to maintain it, if it could be realised for a better purpose."