Empty building bought to help town regeneration

Sheffield councillors have agreed to buy a building which has been empty for years to help regenerate a town centre.

Members of the finance committee said they were cautious about paying more than £636,000 for a building in the centre of the £24.1m scheme in the centre of Stocksbridge.

The property, at 517 Manchester Road, has been empty for about eight years and the owner said unless the council bought it by the end of June, it would be withdrawn from sale.

Officers said if the building was left empty it could "blight" the rest of the regeneration scheme.

Stocksbridge Towns Fund Board, which is responsible for the scheme, had wanted to buy the building outright but it cannot legally purchase it until it has charitable status.

The committee heard the Charity Commission had lengthy delays approving new charities and it was taking up to 23 weeks, as opposed to the usual 10 days.

The council has agreed to buy the building in the meantime and hold it for six months until the board is able to purchase it from the authority.

Jack Byrom told fellow councillors he opposed the purchase and said they needed to look at the issue with a "degree of realism".

"The owner has had eight years to explore redevelopment options and if it were commercially viable, it would have been done by now.

"While we should not be seeking to change decisions made by the town board, this is ultimately public money, and we do have a duty of care to be sure that's spent correctly. I simply believe that this is not value for money for taxpayers."

Douglas Johnson added: "There are some major liabilities. Will the towns fund board agree to underwrite the full costs and make sure the costs don't fall back on other council services?"

After pausing the meeting for a private discussion, the committee voted in favour of buying the building, which will be used commercially to help subsidise an education space.

Council officer Alex Parker said: "The best case scenario is we have a charity that's working for the benefit of the community, the space is well used and it is financially solvent.

"If it's not successful, the building can be sold commercially, possibly at auction to make sure it gets the best value on the day."

The towns fund will pay the council £20,000 to cover its costs for holding on to the building until it transfers. Officers said there had not been enough time to compulsory purchase it.

At the same meeting, councillors agreed to release a £705,000 grant, which had previously been delayed, to the towns fund board to spend on a new artificial all-weather football pitch at the Stocksbridge Park Steels FC ground on Bracken Moor Lane.

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