Kirklees sell off buildings

Eight lots are up for auction on December 4 – and the council is in line for a £62,000 windfall.

In September the council received £826,000 from sales at an auction, adding to the £1m they got from sales in May.

Among the lots are the former council offices in Heckmondwike. It includes a building that was also once a shop and the town’s public toilets, which are now closed. It’s up for grabs for £75,000 to £100,000.

A planning application has been lodged with Kirklees to turn the ground floor into a takeaway and the first floor into a flat. A decision on the application is due to be made on Friday November 21.

Also going under the hammer is land at Upper Road, Batley Carr. There is a planning application for residential development of the site which is due to be considered on December 18. The guide price for the lot is £120,000-£150,000.

Land at Battye Street in Dewsbury is also on offer, which also has an undetermined planning application for residential development on it. The guide price is £20,000-£30,000.

A single storey detached lodge house in Mirfield, with private parking and garden at the entrance to the former Westfields site, has a guide price of £60,000-£70,000.

The former Battye Street School in Heckmondwike has a guide price of £100,000 and above. The traditional stone built Victorian school house is on a half acre site in Battye Street. Planning consent has already been granted to demolish the building and build six three bedroom homes.

Other lots include: grazing land at Blackmoorfoot Road, Crosland Hill (guide price £50k-£60); a garage and driveway off Westgate, Almondbury (£10k); and land at Commercial Street in Slaithwaite (£80,000-£100,000).

The auction takes place at 7pm at The Cedar Court Hotel, Ainley Top, Huddersfield.

In September, the former Dewsbury Register office sold at auction for £104,500. It already has planning permission to turn into four flats. Dryfield House in Batley went for £325,000.

Kirklees is in the process of selling off much of assets and buildings after central government cuts left it needing to plug a £69m black hole in its finances over the next three years.