Council properties on sale

A FORMER care home for the elderly is set to be sold off as part of council plans to raise £14million.

Worcestershire County Council has put 18 properties on the market including Blackmore House in Bromsgrove which was closed as part of cost-cutting measures last year.

The only other site in Bromsgrove to appear on the list is the Recreation Road site which is currently under offer. It is included in the Town Centre Action Plan as an area for development and has been earmarked for an Extra Care retirement village.

Several sites in neighbouring Redditch are also up for grabs including the Crossgates depot offices near to the landfill site.

The move is part of the council’s BOLD plan - Better Outcomes Leaner Delivery - which aims to save £90million by 2015 as a result of public spending cuts.

Money raised will be used to reinvest into protecting frontline services.

All of the sites are deemed to be surplus to requirements but the exact amount each building or piece of land is expected to sell for is not being revealed.

Coun David Thain, responsible for transformation and change on the council, said: “Our property disposal programme is an important part of BOLD – it’s all about getting the best return for taxpayers.

“It’s not just a case of, ‘We’ve got no use for this, we’ll sell it’ – if there are opportunities to join up with other land owners nearby or private developers and sell it as a larger site, we’ll do so.”

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