HBC Auction Bargains
Two properties purchased by Hastings BC to help tackle the problem of homelessness in the town are set to be sold at auction at a knock-down price – costing the council hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The land and property auctioneers, Clive Emson, have listed 12-13 York Buildings (the Millets store) on Wellington Place and 22 Wellington Square for sale at its next auction on 16 September.
Lot 57, York Buildings has a guide price of £950,000. The property was purchased by HBC in the 1980s and the council received an Affordable Homes Programme funding grant of £303,910 from Homes England. This will have to be repaid if the building is sold. The council spent a further £1.2 million on refurbishing six self-contained flats, which it intended to let on affordable rents to tenants selected from its housing register. The flats were never let, however. The sale includes the Millets shop on the ground floor and the basement which generates rent of £28,000 per year.
The Grade II listed 22 Wellington Square is Lot 96. It was bought by the council in February 2019 for £612,000. The price paid at the time was above market value, but the purchase went ahead on the basis that it was worth more to HBC due to the potential savings that would be made to the temporary accommodation budget given that the council already had residents living in the property. It soon became clear, however, that the plans for the building were unrealistic and the property was left empty. It quickly fell into disrepair to the point it now requires significant investment just to bring it up to the council’s Fit to Let standard.
The auctioneers have set a guide price of just £410,000 for the property and if this figure is reached, it will represent a £200,000 loss for the council. This does not include the £30,000 per year HBC has also spent on maintaining the empty property in the intervening years.
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