September 26, 2011 6.28 pm This story is over 150 months old

Council goes ahead with sale of The Lawn

Lawn sale: The City Council will go ahead with the sale of The Lawn complex in uphill Lincoln.

The City of Lincoln Council decided at an Executive meeting on September 26 to go ahead with the sale of most of The Lawn complex in uphill Lincoln.

The council bought The Lawn for £400,000 over three decades ago, but in recent years the building has suffered a declining profile, a council report noted.

High maintenance costs, as well as The Lawn’s lack of tourist interest, led to the council’s decisions to sell the Grade 2 listed former asylum.

In past years, the council did not carry out any planned repairs to the building, just essential and responsive repairs worth £47,000 per year.

Because of this, it is anticipated that over the next five to 10 years, repairs to the building would be significantly costlier.

The areas to be included in the sale are the main Lawn complex, the conservatory, the south car park, the south lawn, and the freehold of Charlotte House.

Due to the south lawn being an open space, the council had to put out a public notice on the proposal, yet no written objections were received by September 15.

The west lawn would still be owned by the council for public use.

The Lincolnite understands The Lawn complex was valued by Lincolnshire estate agents Pygott and Crone, but the sale price is still undisclosed.

Potential buyers will have to put through bids by informal tender and the council said pricing will only be one of the criteria used to select The Lawn’s new owners.

A number of other factors will be part of the council’s decision, including any proposed developments, as well as what the building will be used for once sold.

Photo: Lincolnian Brian