A derelict day centre in Clifton and a former leisure centre are among a series of property assets which Nottingham City Council has agreed to sell in a bid to claw back cash.
The Labour-run council set a target of reviewing more than 500 assets before the end of 2023, to decide if they should be sold off amid ever-tightening finances.
During an Executive Board meeting on May 23, councillors approved the disposal of a number of assets across the city, after they were declared surplus to the council’s needs.
The properties which will be sold include the freehold to the Fairham development site, which includes the former Fairham Community College (Fairham School) and Summerwood Day Centre, the Crocus Place development site, the former John Carroll Leisure Centre, and a property at 30 Woolpack Lane.
Cllr David Mellen (Lab), the leader of the council, said:
“In order for us to fund our capital programme and indeed our transformation programme it is important that, where property is no longer needed, they are able to be disposed of for a capital receipt,” he said.
“At least two of these sites will help us in our desire to have more housing and to try and address the housing shortages in the city.”
A decision to close Summerwood Day Centre, which supported people living with sensory and learning difficulties, was rubber-stamped in 2021 despite resistance from service users and families.
Before the Covid pandemic, 27 people were registered at the centre, with 22 in regular attendance.
At the time the city council said the closure of the centre would save almost £400,000 per year and that its continued operation was not sustainable.
Similarly the John Carroll Leisure Centre, in Basford, closed in June 2021, prompting similar concerns from local service users, while planning permission was granted for future office space at Crocus Place.
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