THE proposed sale of an industrial unit site in Poole is unlikely to be pursued, according to the leader of BCP Council.
The local authority had agreed a fee with the current tenant of 35 Willis Way over the disposal of the site.
A cabinet report, prepared for a meeting in June and seen by the Daily Echo, outlined members would be asked to send a recommendation to full council for the sale of the land at Fleets Industrial Estate.
It said the capital receipt represented “best value” to the council and the money would be used to fund the ongoing “transformation programme".
However, BCP Council’s Conservative leader, Cllr Drew Mellor, said it now looked like the authority would not proceed with the sale of the site, which is home to 17 industrial units.
Cllr Drew Mellor, leader of BCP Council, said: “We continually monitor the market and look at our asset base to make sure BCP’s residents are getting the best value for money.
“This proposed sale was suggested by our operational asset panel as an asset that could be suitable for disposal, should the council wish to raise funds for our Transformation process.
“But as we have stated before, we are reluctant to sell any assets unless a clear case can be made that it is in the public interest.
“Furthermore, we have a continued drive to invest in assets for our future, and to raise the funds for our transformation process via other means.
“Therefore, it seems likely that cabinet will not be pursuing this suggested sale, and instead will look to retain the asset.”
The cabinet report said the tenant approached BCP Council to purchase the freehold interest, with terms subsequently negotiated.
The report by senior estates surveyor Sarah Knott says: “The asset is classified as an investment asset and is non-strategic.
“The capital receipt represents best value to the council.
“Whilst a rental income is received from the property, this is relatively low as it only represents a ground rent.
“There are 57 years unexpired on the lease and therefore it will be quite a time before any real increase in the rent can be achieved.”
It is not yet known whether the item will still be on the cabinet agenda meeting on June 22.
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