Nottingham City Council has announced plans to sell off the site formerly known as Innovation House on Daleside Road.
The council has declared the site surplus to its requirements, and its freehold will be made available for disposal. This decision comes amid a challenging financial backdrop for the council, driven by budget shortfalls and the need to make significant cost savings.
The council’s decision is part of a wider asset rationalisation initiative aimed at addressing a budget gap of over £50 million for the 2024/25 fiscal year.
Increased demand for social care services, rising homelessness, and inflation have forced Nottingham City Council to identify savings totalling £36 million over the next four years. In addition to these measures, the council has been granted Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from the UK government, allowing the use of capital resources to support revenue costs. This includes proceeds from asset sales such as Innovation House.
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Innovation House has fallen into disrepair and has not been usable since 2022.
The council successfully applied for £100,000 from the Brownfield Land Release Fund to assist with the demolition of the building, which took place in 2022. The grant came with the condition that a valid residential planning application for the site would be secured by 31st March 2024, failing which the grant would have to be repaid. Unfortunately, the council has not secured such an application, putting the grant at risk. Consequently, the decision has been taken to proceed with the sale of the site.
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The council has stressed that retaining Innovation House would incur considerable costs in terms of capital expenditure and maintenance. The property was not generating any income, and with no viable alternative uses identified, it was deemed that the best course of action would be to sell. The council hopes that the sale will yield a significant capital receipt, which will be used in accordance with its Capital Strategy to alleviate current budgetary pressures.
The property will be sold via an auction process to ensure best consideration is achieved, in line with the council’s disposals policy.
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