Lock stock and barrel

The dilapidated former care home Lake View will be knocked down by Oldham Council

Council to review all its land and building assets

EVERY building and piece of land owned by Oldham Council will be logged, retained, emptied, demolished or sold under a £6million asset management scheme.

The authority owns a major portfolio ranging from the civic centre to garages and ground rents.

But £106 million worth of assets, totalling 2,100 buildings or land, are non-operational according to a new review, leading to inefficiencies and waste. Now councillors aim to get the most out of their property.

In 2007 the council agreed to shrink its office space by a quarter in five years, and £1 million worth of unused land and buildings were sold off.

But it has been criticised for not having a comprehensive approach to its assets, which have been managed on an ad hoc departmental basis, with little professional property expertise.

Now a corporate asset management plan will find which assets should be retained, decommissioned, demolished or sold. Every operational building will have planned maintenance and be as green and efficient as possible.

And to make sure they have enough funds for the next three years to alter existing buildings, demolish others, or market and dispose of the remainder, £6 million is needed in next year’s budget.

This includes updating poor record-keeping systems with new IT.

Details of each building from address, to income streams through to how much they take to run will be identified, and if they could be shared with other services providers such as the NHS and police.

The council estimates savings could be £350,000 in 2010/11, more in following years.

Cabinet will be asked to consider the report on Tuesday.




Crumbling Lake View to bite the dust



AN eyesore care home opposite award winning Alexandra Park will be knocked down after Oldham Council stepped in.



Lake View, in Kings Road, has been attacked by arsonists and used by squatters since it closed in 1993.

It opened in 1970 as a local authority home for young adults with physical disabilities, but was sold at auction in 1996.

The home has since decayed and been boarded up. It has changed hands several times and was last owned by a woman in Stockport. Despite enforcement action by the council ordering the owner to renovate or demolish the three-storey property, there has been no contact since 2008.

The council has also had to step in to check the building for asbestos which has been removed by specialist contractors.

The demolition contract will cost £16,000, but the total bill including asbestos removal, security, landscaping and cutting off gas, electricity and water will cost £74,000.

After it is finished the council will attempt to get the costs back from the owner, including putting a charge against the land and carrying out an enforced sale if necessary.