A closed swimming pool owned by Bradford Council has been sold at auction for ten times its guide price.
Rhodesway Pool was sold for £508,000 at an online property auction on Wednesday. Its guide price was between £40,000 and £50,000.
The pool site was one of 11 Council owned properties to go under the hammer at the Pugh online property auction, with plots of land, empty homes and an old filling station also being sold.
Eight of the 11 assets that were listed for auction were sold, bringing in over £2.1 million for the cash strapped Council.
Earlier this year, Bradford Council revealed a list of over 150 assets it planned to sell in an effort to balance its books and stave off bankruptcy.
The swimming pool, in the Allerton area, was closed in 2011, and was one of the buildings the council deemed “surplus to requirements.”
The auction listing described the lot as “A rare and exciting opportunity to acquire a former swimming pool located on a roughly triangular site of approximately 1.12 acres (0.45 hectares).”
The identity of the successful bidder for this property, and the others that sold at auction, has not been disclosed.
It was not the only Council lot so sell for far above its guide price.
Other lots sold at the auction include
- A 2.55 acre site off Abb Scott Lane in Low Moor, which sold for £506,000 despite a guide price of just £115,000. The listing described the site as having the potential for 30 new homes.
- A former petrol filling station at Hammerton Street in Bradford city centre. The site had a guide price of between £25,000 and £30,000 but sold for £134,000.
- A badly fire damaged house, 64 Paley Terrace, sold for £61,000 afret being listed with a guide price of £9,500.
- 2 Hallfield Road, a derelict former community centre off Lumb Lane, sold for £153,000. Its guide price was between £30,000 and £35,000.
- The freehold of a block of shops in Shipley town centre, 2-10 Market Street, sold for £317,000 after being listed with a £275,000 guide price. The listing said the businesses are subject to a long leasehold and bring in a rental income of £24,600 each year.
- A property on Thornton Road, currently leased to Johnstone’s Paint on a lease with 56 years remaining, was sold for £292,000. It had a guide price of £170,000.
- 1 Greenwood Road in Baildon had a guide price of £120,000, and sold for £131,000.
Another three properties didn’t sell after failing to meet their guide price. They were 5 Roseberry Street in Oakworth (£85,000), 10 Queen Street in Silsden (£105,000) and a plot of development land at Whinfield Drive in Keighley (£150,000).
By: Chris Young, LDRS
