Council is close to selling off listed flats

A local authority has said it is close to selling off a Grade II listed block of flats that was flooded twice last year.

Brooke House is a 14-storey high-rise with 84 flats and was built in the 1960s in Basildon, Essex.

Basildon Borough Council, which owns the block, previously agreed on a £16m regeneration of the block in June 2022.

Andy Barnes, the new Conservative council leader, has now said it was "pretty likely" the council will sell it to reduce the "burden" on the local authority.

"The view is that a private developer is better positioned to give it the repairs it needs, to make it usable again," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"If a private developer is prepared to step in and take that burden off the council, it's a no-brainer really. I think we've got about £16m set aside for repairs.

"If they want to do the work instead, it makes sense to us."

Council tenants were previously moved out of the building, which left 10 tenants of existing leaseholders in the building at the time of the floods last July.

The council's plans for the site included a ground-floor extension for a new entrance, upgrades to the roof, fire escapes, CCTV, insulation, cladding and windows.

Residents posted online about an email from the council stating the building could be sold off.

The council is speaking to a developer, and a deal has been drawn up which Barnes said was "looking pretty promising".

"Brooke House has been an issue for local residents for years, and it's time to get it sorted," he said.

"It's dragged on for goodness knows how long, and this is an opportunity for the private sector to do what it does best.

"They obviously feel they can make a profit which is why they are interested in taking it off our hands.

"It looks like a deal that should work for everybody."

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