Croydon Council wants to sell off more than 20 properties in a bid to bring in £50million this financial year.
On the list of “disposals” is the Colonnades Retail Park in Purley Way and the old New Addington leisure centre.
The cash-strapped council has published a list of 27 buildings it owns and plans to sell off in 2023/24.
This includes the Cherry Orchard Garden Centre which is staffed by volunteers with disabilities, despite strong opposition from locals.
It also includes the sale of five council houses in Wooderson Close, South Norwood, which are set to be sold off to make way for the long-awaited expansion of Crystal Palace FC’s Selhurst Park stadium.
A few of the sales listed include properties bought by Croydon Council in the hope of bringing in income.
It bought The Colonnades for £53million in 2018 and in 2019 it bought the warehouse of the Selco builders’ merchants building and the offices of medical supplies specialist Alliance Healthcare in New Addington for a total of £14million.
A report, set to be discussed at a cabinet meeting next Wednesday (May 24), outlines the case for the sales.
It said: “The cost of holding and running assets is second only to staffing costs and therefore it is important to ensure that they are used in the most cost-effective manner.
“By adopting a more flexible disposal process, assets will be able to be sold in a more commercial and timely fashion.
"With continued uncertainty within the wider macro-economic climate this is becoming increasingly important to allow the council to compete within the wider commercial disposals market.
"It has been demonstrated from some of the earlier disposals, that any delays can lead to purchasers trying to reduce initial offer prices and, in some cases, withdraw from the sale.”
The full list of properties the council wants to sell off:
The Colonnades, Purley Way
Davis House – Office block in High Street, Croydon
60 Vulcan Way – Alliance Healthcare
37 Imperial Way – Selco builders merchants
Imperial Way various
Boulogne Road – Depot (Former Accessibility Centre)
Enterprise Close (Units 1/11)
58 Ashburton Road – A three-bedroom house used for mental health services
St. Colombas Mission Hall, Charnwood Road
Cemetery Lodge, Croydon Cemetery, Mitcham Road
House in Norbury Hall Park (56 Craignish Avenue)
Two pavilions in Purley Way Playing Fields – one was burnt down in May 2022
Cherry Orchard Garden Centre
Addington Hills Restaurant
Former New Addington Leisure Centre
Addington Community Centre and 90 Central Parade
Car Park of Coulsdon CALAT site
Renal Dialysis Centre of Coulsdon Calat Centre
1-24 Ramsey Court – Offices of voluntary organisation Home Start Croydon
43 Carmichael Road – Home to Snuggles Pre School
Café Limpsfield Road, Sanderstead
Former Tollgate Children’s Centre, Malling Close
13A Mayo Road – Previously home to community furniture project
Broom Road Depot – Empty former depot
Wooderson Close (Numbers 22,24,26,28 and 32) – Council houses will be sold for the Selhurst Park expansion
139 Wingate Crescent – Council house which has been empty for 10 years
92a/94a High Street, Croydon – Buildings with shops on the ground floor.
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