Coventry City Council plan to buy property around Belgrade Plaza

[dutchman]

The move could help pump money into services



Coventry City Council is planning to snap up the leasehold for a swathe of property around Belgrade Plaza.

The 129,500 square foot area is up for sale, and fully occupied – with Premier Inn, J D Gyms, McColl’s, restaurants and 63 residential flats all to pay their rent to the council if the deal goes ahead.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration, said the plans – which are expected to be agreed at a cabinet meeting on March 10 – will help provide money to be pumped into services for the city and its residents.

It’s not the first time Coventry City Council has looked to invest in commercial properties.

They have previously invested in 32,000 square foot of office space at Binley Court and a B&M Bargains Store on Ansty Road, which a spokesman for the city council said is expected to provided a positive return for many years.

Cllr O’Boyle said: “The council has a long history of investing in commercial land and property to help fund our services and we select potential investments very carefully.

“It makes sense to try and guarantee that we can deliver more of our services to the citizens of Coventry by securing funding from commercial properties. And in fact we have a really strong track record in this area – with a property portfolio which generates a return of over £14million a year.

“Belgrade Plaza is a good example of how we can invest in a local development to secure a return.”

Coventry City Council has followed a strategy of investing in commercial ventures in a bid to boost income amid funding cuts from central government.

The authority owns Coombe Abbey Hotel and is in the process of of closing a £14.5m deal to buy a city waste firm.

Councillors gave the green light on Tuesday, February 26, to purchase all shares of the company, understood by CoventryLive to be Longford waste disposal firm Tom White Waste.

No details of the purchase have been revealed by the authority, with councillors discussing the deal behind closed doors.

In a report to councillors, director of finance and corporate services Barry Hastie said the deal will “generate a return to support the councils medium term financial strategy”.

[Melisandre]

Is this why our council tax keeps going up to pay for the likes of this.

[rebbonk]

My opinion of O'Boyle is pretty low, and I trust him a lot less than the distance I could throw him.

Without the details being made public, it is difficult to judge the merits of this little deal. However, previous experience tells us that we should be very wary.