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The council will consider the sell off tonight
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Council may sell property to raise funds

By Victoria Smith
January 26, 2012

A council sell-off of former schools, disused land and care homes could raise millions.

Wokingham Borough Council’s latest capital spending report includes plans for sale of land it owns to gain cash for reinvestment in other areas.

The site of The Emmbrook School in Emmbrook Road could fetch £3.5 million in 2015/16, when the school is relocated to Arborfield as part of housing plans.

Bearwood Primary School in Bearwood Road, Sindlesham, has a price tag of £750,000.

The school is expected to move to a new home on the Hatch Farm Dairies site, where hundreds of new homes are planned.

The list also indicates the council will sell the print works and adjoining land in Norton Road for £450,000 in the next year, Winnersh Farm for £3 million in 2014/15 and Ryeish Green School for £4 million in 2013/14.

Residents of Fosters care home in Woodley will be surprised to see the facility on the list for sale in three years time, as a consultation into the home’s future is still ongoing. One of two options are to close the facility and re-home residents.

The Bowling Club in Wellington Road, Wokingham, would sell in 2015/16 for £750,000 and land adjoining the Toutley Depot in Wokingham could fetch £1 million in 2015/16.

The council’s report is due to go before the executive committee tonight.

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DX C. Green space is not just about the area to which the public have access but also the surrounding area into which wild life, birds in particular can retreat. Not many years ago there was a green corridor all the way from Elms Field nearly to Molly Millars Lane. On the railway side of Wellington Road losing the bowling club will complete the destruction of this corridor.

PoneRana, Wokingham
27/01/2012 at 13:06

The problem with selling the family silver is that it can only be done once. Times are hard and it may well be the Councils only alternative. The tests for me are: 1) the money raised will be invested to produce more income that will help pay for council services, 2) the money raised will be used to pay off debt and in future will leave us with extra funds that will be used to secure services / employment 3) the funds raised are not used as a stop gap to fund services that cannot be sustained in the long run, 4) the funds raised are not used for pet projects the council have 5) The sale doesn’t result in large developments that result with more pressure in amenities, 6) Previous sale of Fosters care home’s etc have resulted with poorer service from those who have taken them over. The reason for this is that such services are not profitable but necessary in our communities.

I would like Wokingham to justify why they are selling these properties, that they have done to consider alternative use for them before considering selling them and what are they going to do with the funds raised. Remember you can only sell the family silver once. Tahir Maher

Troubled, Reading
26/01/2012 at 16:06

If the council is going to sell off properties and land owned by the borough then we must ensure that we get a fair market price. All too often these deals seem to go through on a nod & a wink and some developer ends up making an exorbitant profit

William Richards
26/01/2012 at 15:27

PoneRana - it's not green space in that though, it's just space that happens to be green. And it's only a few hundred metres from actual green space which is vastly bigger.

It really depends what they're going to do with it. Using the land for public facilities which benefit from being close to the town centre could be of use to people. If they're just going to put houses or businesses on there, not so much. You could argue that it is already the former.

DX C
26/01/2012 at 13:49

The sale of the Bowling Club in Wellington Road is extremely worrying. It is a continuation of the council policy, that they have pursued for many years, of destroying the green space in the centre of Wokingham. We have lost the Football ground, Carnival Field and (I think) the cricket club. Now Elms Field and the Bowling club are at risk. The town is rapidly approaching the stage where it has less open space than central London.

PoneRana, Wokingham
26/01/2012 at 12:43

I have to agree with Damiano_Tommassi. Selling off assets like this gives a quick burst of cash, but much less than investing in them and getting a longer term use and income.

Matthew S. Dent, Wargrave
26/01/2012 at 11:29

Ivor - enough land for 20+ houses? I'll take it for 750k!

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
26/01/2012 at 11:03

This is old news. By the way - 750K for Bearwood School is an absolute gift.

Ivor Biggun, winnersh
26/01/2012 at 10:57

Something makes me feel very uneasy about government - local or national - selling-off assets. We'll never get this land/these properties back in the public interest now, will we - they'll be owned by private owners and companies, and probably rented back to us when the council needs more land and schools again.

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
26/01/2012 at 10:45

So looking at the facts here, we now have a council that:-

1. Spending a fortune buying up empty shops funding the "Regeneration" 2. Wont publish is budget 3. Now having to sell off land to meet a shortfall

Doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence that they know what they are doing.