Former Newark Marks and Spencer building bought by Newark and Sherwood District Council
It isn’t just a feud, it’s an M&S feud. A row has broken out over a council’s secret purchase of Newark’s empty Marks and Spencer store.
Conservative-led Newark and Sherwood District Council has bought the Stodman Street building for £540,000, prior to it going to auction for a second time.
The decision was taken under delegated powers in consultation between senior officers and the council leader with the leader of the opposition informed.
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The purchase — which follows the joint acquisition of the Buttermarket and Royal Exchange with the town council — did not go to any committee for oversight.
District council leader David Lloyd said: “This purchase is an important opportunity to acquire a site that will be strategically significant in putting together a comprehensive regeneration scheme for Newark town centre.”
However, a district councillor said: “The contact with yourselves is the first confirmation of the purchase I have had.
“As an elected official, I would have expected to have been informed before the outlay of such a massive amount of council tax money. It should have gone to committee.
“The amount of delegated decisions being made by the leadership is beyond a joke.”
The building was listed by Allsop in a London auction on December 9 with a reserve of no higher than £¼m, but was withdrawn prior to the sale. It had failed to sell at auction in March.
Labour Group leader Paul Peacock said: “I was told the timeframe offered no opportunity to go to committee. I was told the price and that it provided good value for money and low risk to the council.
“I raised concern about the amount of retail space the council has purchased, or is purchasing, including the Buttermarket and three retail outlets at the Travelodge (Robin Hood Hotel site) — especially given there is so much empty retail space.
“I still have my concerns. The other side of the coin is that do we really want to see a building as large as that empty for so long?”
Mr Peacock said the system of delegated decision-making needed to be addressed.
“I didn’t know it had been to auction once before, and, if that’s the case, it calls into question why it couldn’t have gone to committee in the interim,” he said.
The council said the building last sold for just over £4m in 2012.
Mr Lloyd said: “This is another example that shows the willingness of the council to quickly intervene for the benefit of the town and wider district.
“We have secured an important site, at a very competitive price, which is located in a strategically significant part of the town.
“This acquisition will enable us to take another step towards a comprehensive programme of regeneration and we’ll be looking to bring the building back into use as quickly as possible.
“To suggest that we should have hung about and gone through our committee system is simply unrealistic. We needed to act swiftly to avoid missing out.
“Very often, councils are criticised for not being proactive and quick to act. We’re a forward thinking, progressive council and while it’s important that we follow due process — which we did — sometimes we have to move at pace and that means not everyone can be involved.”
