Bexley seek to sell Bexleyheath office block for housing
Bexley council could sell an office block in Bexleyheath according to a report.
Wilkinson House was previously home to three occupants in GMB, Unison and Siemens but now vacant.
With housing at premium in London and beyond three options are listed in the report:
- To retain ownership and refurbish the property for Council use or short-term letting.
- To transfer the property to the Council’s arm’s-length development company, BexleyCo Limited, for conversion or redevelopment.
- To dispose of the property in the open market, at best value.
Despite the number of homeless households across London and the wider country being at record highs with enormous cost to the taxpayer through the use of expensive private rentals, Bexley are looking to sell.
They state “The Council has no evident, further use for the property, and the development opportunity is understood not to be of interest to BexleyCo Limited.”
That brings a short term income boost but long term more expenditure through the use of private landlords and, for example, Bed and Breakfasts. One of the biggest obstacles to building new homes is land purchase costs, which on sites like this Bexley wouldn’t be needed but they’re still not considering direct build housing.
Indeed, the report notes the building will instead be sold to developer and “the purchaser is understood to be proposing a conversion into residential flats”.
It may even be the case that the new owner, if a private developer, then leases back any homes to the council via expensive rental agreements costing the taxpayer much more over time than if publicly owned.
It’s also notable that Bromley council are taking a different approach, and last month agreed to develop public land to provide new housing directly and thus avoid long term costs through the use of expensive private and overnight lettings.
If the building is now surplus to requirements and the council or other local businesses have no further use for it. As shared business space where businesses rent floors of the building or where desk are rented out individually to small businesses.
Then it would be best to sell the property and convert the building in to much needed homes.
The private developer will either convert the existing building or knock it down and build new homes both of which the authority could do without the added expense of purchasing the land – and that in turn would save taxpayers money from paying private landlords. Not doing so is penny wise and pound foolish. This is a microcosm of bigger issues. On a wider scale and happening all over the country we see public land sold off then councils paying £££ to lease back homes and one reason why the UK now spends more than £30bn a year on housing benefit with much going to private landlords and private interests from public funds
Absolutely J Smith.
This council needs to stop sitting on its hands and provide social housing that is sorely required.
Passing the building to private developers is not the answer as it is not cost effective, spending our money wisely is critical for the future of the borough.
The lazy attitude has spanned generations and due to this incompetence the county and country is in a terrible state.