Wigan council has brought in more than £10.5m in the last five years selling off land. Two former school sites and old council offices have come off the town hall books and are now being developed into new houses.
A total of 141 plots of land were sold for £10,535,954 since the start of 2017. The old Abraham Guest and St Gabriel’s school sites accounted for more than £3m of that total and will provide new homes for the borough now.
Charlotte Cordingley, director for housing, property and corporate assets at Wigan Council, said: “The council sells off land and property for a variety of reasons; often because it is no longer needed or to deliver on our strategic objectives, such as developing housing or infrastructure.
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"The money raised from sales is used to fund the Council’s capital programme, although there may be some cases where this money is ring fenced for specific projects.”
A number of sites would have been sold off as a result of the right to buy scheme - which allows council house residents to buy their homes for a reduced cost. This could explain why a few sites were sold for £1 in some circumstances.
Regarding the specific plots, Wigan Council said: “Following the building and opening of Abraham Guest High School, this site was no longer needed. It has been sold, with 60 homes currently being built on the site.
“At Oaklands, Lowton; these are former Council offices which were no longer needed. This site was also sold, and homes built on it.
“Higher Folds Estate; the existing school moved to a new site so it was no longer needed. It has been sold for homes to be built.
“Mosley Common Road; this is the sale of two small plots of land to adjacent owner occupiers to extend their gardens.”
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