A NEW deal to sell a former Glasgow school site to a housing developer for £3 million is set to be agreed after previous plans for the land fell through.
Council officials are recommending an offer from Bellway Homes to buy the old Howford Primary School and schoolhouse on Crookston Road is approved on Thursday.
Two potential buyers have previously come close to taking over the land but neither deal has gone ahead — with the latest failing as permission for 70 homes couldn’t be agreed.
Councillors had been in favour of approving 57 homes, which is the same number as Bellway have proposed.
Both buildings on the land — which was placed back on the market in June this year — have been demolished following fires. Glasgow City Council received 14 bids for the site, with Bellway Homes’ offer considered best value.
Cllr Ruairi Kelly, the council’s convener for neighbourhood assets and services, said the sale would be “good news for the area and the city”.
He added a vacant site would be given a “new and productive use with new and much-needed homes being built there” and “a substantial capital receipt for the council will be reinvested into the delivery of public services in Glasgow”.
BMI Healthcare Ltd had been set to buy the site for around £3.3m in 2020 but, due to a board restructure, the deal was “no longer supported,” a council report states.
It went back on the market in 2021 and Robertson Living Ltd, which proposed a mix of detached and semi detached homes on the land, submitted the highest bid, with a “headline price” of over £3.8m.
The deal was subject to planning permission for 70 homes being secured. Councillors were minded to grant permission for plans to build 57 homes in August 2023.
The council report adds: “Due to the reduction in units, Robertson were unable to complete on their original bid and as a revised offer could not be agreed, Robertson resiled from the sale.”
The site went to market again this year, with a highest bid — a headline price of just over £5m — received.
However, officials believe the offer from Bellway represents “the best consideration for the council,”with £3m set to be received this financial year as there is a target completion date of January.
The higher offer had a “net minimum price” of £3.5m and was for 58 homes. It was subject to planning consent and the deduction of abnormal costs.
It was initially proposed to be paid in two equal tranches, with the first on the date of entry and the second 12 months after. The bidder had advised a single payment could be made if needed.
Any successful bidder will need to submit a new planning application. Planners advised it could take up to 16 months for permission to be in place.
Officials believe once abnormal costs were deducted from the higher bid, they “would not anticipate achieving a capital receipt above the net minimum price”.
They add: “Assuming the net minimum price is agreed at £3,550,000, the present value at the date of concluding the transaction (March 2026) is equivalent to £3,305,998, when a discount rate of 5.5% (rate of interest) is applied.
“The present value may decrease if the sale completion date extends beyond March 2026 and/or if interest rates increase.”
The council could also receive an uplift on the completion of sales by Bellway as a result of a sales revenue overage in the offer.
