Last updated at 16:37, Tuesday, 27 August 2013
A LISTED building is up for sale as the community group that owns it looks to ease its financial burden.
After years of legal wrangling, Ford Park House is finally on the market.
Trustees of Ford Park Community Group had talked about selling off the grade II-listed building back in 2010 due to its high running costs.
But complications over a lease agreement with Cumbria County Council, which runs an adult day service at the building, put the plans on hold until a new deal was signed.
The building has now been put up for sale – with a price tag of £395,000 – but trustees have stressed Ford Park itself is going nowhere.
Chairman of trustees Colin Pickthall said: “The park is not for sale. It is the old building only, with the exception of a parking space and a narrow piece of garden around it.”
The park, kitchen garden and coach house, he said, will be unaffected by the sale.
He added: “It’s certainly the end of an era for us but it’s also the end of a long desperate struggle to keep it in one piece.”
The building is in a useable condition but it needs repairs to its roof and a new heating system to secure its long-term future, something the community group cannot afford to do.
Although there would be restrictions over what could be done with the property, it could be seen as an attractive option to developers looking to build flats or office space in Ulverston.
The new lease agreement would give both the prospective owner and the council six months to back out if they wish.
The clause makes the building marketable to developers, who may not want to be tied to a long-term tenant, while giving the council the security of knowing it would have time to find suitable alternative premises.
And Mr Pickthall said the price tag makes the sale a win-win deal, as trustees can invest the money elsewhere in Ford Park.
He said: “It would allow a purchaser the elbow room to do the necessary work on it.”
First published at 16:35, Tuesday, 27 August 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
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