Councillor voices concern as auction sale looms for Peterborough community centre
Fear that former centre could become flats
A councillor has voiced concerns as a community centre looks set to go under the hammer as Peterborough City Council seeks to bridge a funding gap.
The Walton Community Centre, in Mountsteven Avenue, in Walton, is scheduled to be sold at auction with a guide price of £175,000 to £200,000.
The centre, which features 2,003 square feet of ground floor accommodation plus a garden and yard area at the front, is being sold as Lot 64 at the Allsop’s online auction on May 1.
But the move has triggered an angry reaction from one local councillor who says a local buyer should be found for the building.
However, the move to sell the building has been met with concern by Councillor Alexander Rafiq, who is one of the area’s representatives on the city council.
He said: “I’m shocked the centre is going to auction as I had recently notified the council that there is a health provider locally keen to buy it.
"What we don’t need is a buyer who only intends to convert the building into flats as the area already struggles with traffic congestion.”
Cllr Rafiq said an earlier offer from an unknown party to buy the centre for £225,000 had fallen through.
The centre’s position close to two schools – the Discovery Primary Academy and the Queen Katharine Academy – means the building is seen as ideally suitable for future nursery or education uses.
However, office or healthcare use have also been suggested as alternatives.
A notice advertising the sale states: “The property may lend itself to a variety of alternative uses and redevelopment, subject to obtaining all the necessary consent.”
The Walton Community Centre was one of seven community buildings in Peterborough to be listed for sale by the council a year ago following a review of the local authority’s assets in the previous year.
The action had been prompted by the council’s need to use the cash that could be raised from the sale of its assets to reduce its £500 million debt.
In turn this would reduce the amount the council needed to take from its revenue budget, which is the money the authority uses to provide services.