Government details RDA asset sale
THE Government has confirmed the first seven North West Regional Development (NWDA) property assets to be put on the open market.
The sites, spread throughout the North West, represent about 18% of the agency’s portfolio by number.
In February the Department for Business set out plans for the disposal of regional development agency (RDA) assets to “achieve the best possible outcome for the local area”, but also stressed the need to “achieve the best value for the public purse”.
The eight English RDAs are being wound up after the coalition government decided they should be replaced by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) which launched this month. The RDAs will close by April 2012.
The Government said local authorities will be given first refusal to acquire the assets in some cases but it will not allow deferred payments.
The seven sites are:
Lea Green Industrial Estate, St Helens
The NWDA is in final negotiations with a potential purchaser over the 1.9-acre site.
Rossmore Road, Ellesmere Port
The agency said it is close to selling this 2.5-acre site.
Hooton Business Park, Ellesmere Port
This is a 23-acre development site near the Vauxhall plant. It has been the NWDA’s intention to sell this land since it was inherited in 1999.
Station Road, Silloth
The land was inherited from the Rural Development Commission when the NWDA was formed in 1999. The agency owns a third of an acre of development land which is on the market and available for development for employment uses.
Ferry View
This development land at Wirral International Business Park is under agreement to Redsun Developments for a two phase scheme. Phase one will include five new industrial units ranging from 6,000 to 45,000 sq ft. This development has been supported by the provision of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant funding package.
Speke Freeholds
Speke freeholds are strips of land located along Speke Boulevard which the agency says has no value. It said: “The agency is working to ensure the future owner utilises the land to best capacity and influence what development is carried out.”
An eighth site, the TGWU Building in central Liverpool, is listed by the Government but it has already been sold to the Unite union.
The remaining assets, such as Ancoats Urban Village in Manchester and Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, are still being considered by the Department for Business.
Across England the assets up for grabs represent about 20% of all land and property by book value. The Government said land and property assets make up over a third – by book value – of the total portfolio of all RDA assets.
