Purpose

The Council agreed to sell land at Raynham Street, Ashton for the development of one bungalow with completion of the acquisition to be made upon the grant of planning permission and within 18 months.

Planning permission took in excess of 18 months to be granted as the developer sought an alternative planning permission for two small bungalows rather than one larger bungalow that had been envisaged.

The original contract date has expired, and the sale cannot complete without new Governance Approval.

Permission is being sought to complete the sale by the approval of a new contract period.

Decision

(i)     That the sale of land at Raynham Street, Ashton be completed.

(ii)   That the contract period be extended for a further three months from today’s date to allow the sale to complete.

Reasons for the decision

The longstop date of the proposed sale agreement expired as planning permission took longer than expected to be granted.

Alternative options considered

The property could be remarketed, but demand for small sites has weakened since being originally marketed and few developers are interested in developing small bungalows and it is considered that a sale to the original developer is in the Council’s best interest.