Conservative leader challenges council's decision to sell land for £1

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The leader of the Conservative group on Blackpool Council is challenging decision-making after councillors agreed to sell a plot of land for £1.

The council's executive agreed to sell part of the site of the former Devonshire Road Hospital for a nominal fee of £1 to kickstart the development of a new magistrates court for the town.

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Artist's impression of the new courthouseArtist's impression of the new courthouse
Artist's impression of the new courthouse | Blackpool Council

The council paid around £1m for the 3.7-acre site in 2020, using funding from an early tranche of Town Deal cash. As the money came from central government, it was agreed to sell the land to HM Courts and Tribunals Service for the nominal fee.

But Coun Paul Galley, leader of the Conservative group on the council, has questioned the process and whether it represented good value. He said the decision was made without the knowledge of many councillors.

He said: "A better deal for the council taxpayers of Blackpool would have been to sell it as leasehold rather than freehold.

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"But with next to no independent scrutiny of this sale how can we be assured it's the best deal when so few councillors are involved in the decision-making process? All future land sales must go before all councillors in order to ensure the best deals are being delivered."

A council report presented to the executive before it made its decision said: "The nominal transfer of the site is in consideration of the grant funding received from central government, which supported the acquisition of a site, which has lain redundant for nearly 20 years."

It added that not going through with the sale would delay construction of the new courthouse. Blackpool is currently without a magistrates court with cases having to be heard elsewhere in Lancashire.

Planning permission for the new building is in place with work expected to begin early next year, and the courthouse ready by the end of 2026.

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