AN ICONIC former music venue that once hosted the Beatles plus a Halfords store in Slough are among the properties that could soon be put on the market.
A cash-drained Slough Borough Council is already selling off several assets, including an Odeon Cinema in Basingstoke and a Wilkes DIY store in Wolverhampton, to reduce its £760m borrowing debt.
The former Montem Leisure Centre, which has planning permission for 212 homes, could be sold for over £13.5m.
All of these properties and land are a part of a major disposal strategy, which involves selling up to £600m worth of the council’s assets in order to help balance the books.
READ MORE: Slough's Montem Leisure Centre site set to be sold off
Council leader James Swindlehurst (Lab: Cippenham Green) previously said the local authority has about £100m worth of non-operational assets it will sell.
The local authority’s property advisor Avison Young has assembled a list of assets it has identified as ‘surplus’ that can go out for marketing, meaning its extra assets that are not, or are no longer, part of the council’s day-to-day life.
Among the 108 saleable assets that could sell for £335m, is the Halfords in Bath Road which was bought for over £4m in 2016 as an income generator.
The council previously listed the £4.6m former Adelphi Theatre, which use to host major acts like the Beatles and guitar legend Jimi Hendrix back in its heyday, and is part of Avison Young’s list.
Cllr Rob Anderson (Lab: Britwell & Northborough), lead member for financial oversight, previously said they were “gauging the market” to see if there was any interest for the site.
Another major player in the list is the council’s former headquarters called St Martins Place, which was targeted for 64 affordable flats.
The land earmarked for 24 affordable homes in Norway Drive could also be sold off. This is a major blow to the council considering it has taken years to get the ball rolling to develop the site.
Including the receipts from the four out-of-borough assets and the sale of the council’s own projects, it could generate £424m.
READ MORE: Appeal to redevelop a Slough shopping parade blocked
This is more than enough to pay off its revised £367m government bailout that could lead to its debt being reduced to £250m and decrease its minimum revenue provision, money set aside from its revenue budget to pay off borrowing, to £6.5m.
But Avison Young warns the market is ‘extremely uncertain’ and could result in decreased values and delays in selling the assets. It urges the council to sell the ‘surplus’ properties as soon as possible.
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