Four Bradford Council-owned sites have been sold at auction for above their guide price, including a city centre car park and plot of green belt land.
In the past year, Bradford Council has offloaded numerous assets, including buildings and land, to try and balance its budget.
Last year the Government agreed to provide the Council with “exceptional financial support” to help it avoid bankruptcy.
As well as allowing the Council to borrow money, the support allowed the authority to sell assets to fund its day-to-day operations.
Under normal financial rules, Councils can only use the money raised from asset sales for other capital projects – not services like social care or road repairs.
This week a number of Council assets were sold at an auction by Pugh.
The 116-space Burnett Street pay and display car park at the top of Little Germany was listed with a guide price of £160,000.
The car park has now sold for £322,000.
No details of the buyer have yet been disclosed.
The site is one of the larger Council-operated car parks in the city centre, and is next to several of Little Germany’s many listed buildings.
The listing described the lot as “a city-centre, freehold plot of land extending to approximately 0.87 acres (0.56 hectares)”.
It fronts both Barkerend Road and Shipley Airedale Road.
A 23.6-acre site between the River Aire and A629 in Utley, near Keighley, was also listed for sale with a £170,000 guide price.
The listing had said: “The plot comprises grazing land and is sold subject to a tenancy agreement.
“The plot is allocated as green belt and can be used for agricultural use only.”
The land ended up selling for £185,000.
A grassed area at Old Park Road in Thorpe Edge also went under the hammer. The land is included in the Council’s draft local plan for being suitable for a 16- home development.
The plot had a guide price of £150,000 at the auction, ultimately selling for £165,000.
Another plot of land allocated for housing in the draft local plan was also sold.
The area of land off Ormonde Drive, Allerton has been identified as suitable for six homes in the draft plan.
Surrounded by housing, the site had a £78,000 guide price and sold for £131,000.
Two other lots that were listed have been postponed to a future auction. They were the Prince of Wales Park lodge in Bingley and a plot of grazing land at Woodhall Road.
