An industrial estate is the latest in Nottingham City Council's portfolio to face the axe as part of plans to balance its books. The premises known as Stonebridge Court Industrial Estate on Alfred Street South has now been declared "surplus to the property trading account".
The disposal of the industrial asset will generate a capital receipt for the city council. Other options considered included the refusal to dispose the premises. However this option has been ruled out as it is "not viable as it presents a business risk to the Council as the asset requires capital investment to maximise its potential".
The option to introduce an active asset management approach was also ruled out as it is "not considered an effective and efficient use of resources, because of the condition of the premises". In the absence of capital expenditure, the full potential of this asset cannot be maximised, the Nottingham City Council report reads.
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The property consists of tenanted units and has been recommended for sale following a review by the Disposal Team within Property Services. The review considered all aspects of the property including income/expenditure, state of repair and maintenance, management intensity and the disposal market for the asset type. The capital receipt generated will assist in meeting the current commitments within the capital programme and provide additional cash flow into the council to mitigate budget pressures and contribute towards funding a transformation programme.
However, a tenant said she was "disgusted" with the decision and said its disposal could be damaging to businesses in the area. Kelly Brett, owner of KB Recycling Ltd, said: “I own KB Recycling Ltd and have had a business premises on Stonebridge Court for the past four years. We are a small family run business, who live and work in the heart of the City. I am disgusted that Nottingham City Council have not given us the opportunity to express our interest in the sale, we cannot find out any information and it all seems rather underhanded."
The 41-year-old from St Ann's added: "This sale could damage us, along with the other 13 businesses here - and possibly result in the loss of jobs for over 40 Nottingham residents."
In response to the trader's concerns, a Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “Staff from our Property team have met representatives of the traders at the industrial estate on a number of occasions to keep them updated about how things are progressing. We understand these concerns and will work with them to minimise any impact on their businesses as much as we can. There is a significant level of capital investment needed to maintain this property into the future and it is no longer viable for the Council to continue to hold it.”
A spokesperson for the Stonebridge Court Tenants Association also added: “It would be fine if they were booting us out, but providing us with other units to move into as an alternative - but at the moment Nottingham has got a lack of commercial units and the council selling them all off which is a short-term fix to get some revenue but will just create a long-term problem because they’re not supporting local businesses."
