April 15, 2022 11.06 am This story is over 23 months old

Council selling £215k tennis courts and play area to Lincolnshire parish for £1

Part of plan to make annual savings
The former East Lindsey District Council offices at Tedder Hall.

East Lindsey District Council is to hand over £215,000 of assets in Manby to the parish council for just £1 as it looks to make savings of nearly £4,000 a year.

A report before the authority’s executive on April 27 said it was unlikely the council would be able to sell the Manby Park Tennis Courts and Children’s Play Area for their value, and that developing them would result in the loss of outdoor recreational facilities.

Instead Grimoldby and Manby Parish Council will be sold the assets for £1.

A request to include the Gatehouse near to Tedder Hall was also made, however, the council said it wanted to see if any prospective buyer of the council’s current headquarters wanted to include the building.

If not, the parish council could also be offered that building.

The sites front on to Carlton Road and the children’s play area currently costs ELDC £3,705 a year to maintain.

The tennis courts are leased to the parish council already at a peppercorn rent of £1.

The transfer contract will include a covenant restricting the use of the site and its redevelopment for commercial gain.

East Lindsey has had a spate of asset transfers in recent months, with Horncastle Town Council offered a number of locations including Stanhope Hall, the Wong Football Ground and the Cattle Market car park.

Woodhall Spa was given the Dambusters Memorial, the Spa Road public conveniences and the facilities at Royal Square, while Alford Town Council was transferred assets including the town’s Squash Club, several car parks and chunks of amenity land.

East Lindsey District Council is planning to move to a new £8.2million headquarters in Horncastle in September this year.

The new building, part of a Further Education College and Public Sector Hub with Boston College, will open on Mareham Road.