Council office sale to care home 'win, win, win'

The sale of former council offices to a care home operator is a "win, win, win" situation, a senior councillor has said.

North Yorkshire Council's executive committee has agreed to dispose of the civic centre at Stone Cross in Northallerton, the former headquarters of Hambleton District Council.

The building would be sold for an undisclosed fee which was described as "significant" by council chiefs.

The authority decided the offices were not needed following the abolition of Hambleton District Council and the launch of the unitary North Yorkshire Council in 2023.

Customer service facilities have also been transferred from the building to the Treadmills site in the town centre.

Councillors voted unanimously to progress the sale of the building to an unnamed care home operator at a meeting on Tuesday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The authority's deputy leader Gareth Dadd said the sale was the "first major capital" disposal by the unitary authority.

"It is providing not just a strong capital receipt but, once we take into account the new costs from the new location of the customer service centre, we're looking at net £150,000 to £200,000 I would suggest, in revenue savings through us moving out of that particular building," he said.

"It's also provided a better customer service experience, as well as underpinning the new Treadmills site with increased footfall."

Dadd said all-in-all it was a "win, win, win" and said the council "should not be hesitant in approving the disposal of that particular asset".

Mark Crane, executive member for open to business, also spoke in favour of the sale.

"As a unitary authority, it's clearly wrong that we've got two large offices in the same town," he said.

"This is a good news story whichever way you look at it."

The back-office services which previously operated from Stone Cross have been mainly relocated to County Hall in Northallerton, officials said.

The building was put up for sale earlier this year with the negotiations led by the council's property consultancy, Align Property Partners.

The sale will not affect the adjacent leisure centre or the former caretaker's property which are located next to the disused building.

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