Council decision to sell TK Maxx building while buying Sand Martin House 'seems wrong', councillor says

Peterborough City Council's (PCC) decision to sell the former TK Maxx building while at the same time buying Sand Martin House in Fletton Quays "seems wrong", a council group leader has said.

Cllr Chris Harper (Peterborough First, Stanground South) said that the TK Maxx building on Bridge Street could have been redeveloped for council use but that it must instead use Sand Martin House because it's "trapped" by its lease.

His comments came after PCC announced that it would no longer house its proposed culture hub, The Vine, in the TK Maxx building, but rather in Peterborough’s Central Library and a second, as of yet undisclosed, location.

The Vine will include a “light and airy modern library” as well as a “thriving community hub”, PCC says, and “a multitude of food and beverage takeaway restaurants and bars”.

The TK Maxx building – which PCC bought with £4m of the £13m Towns Fund grant it was awarded for the project by the Government – will, meanwhile, be sold to private investors, with initial proposals including turning it into a conference centre or a "banqueting centre" with a rooftop bar.

Council leader Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (Conservatives, West), who described selling TK Maxx and homing The Vine in Central Library as a "win-win", has vowed that the sale will make a profit for the council.

Cllr Harper, meanwhile, said that he’s pleased Peterborough’s Central Library will remain in Broadway but that “someone should be answering” for "missed opportunities" to vacate Sand Martin House, which the council has occupied since 2018.

“I'm pleased that the library remains in Broadway, an area that can ill afford to be run down any more, and additional investment including the inclusion of The Vine will be made in it to utilise it fully,” he said, also stressing that his comments reflect his individual view rather than the entirety of his council group.

“Regarding [selling] the old TK Maxx building, as PCC are the owners, then it seems wrong to me that we are at the same time talking about purchasing Sand Martin House on Fletton Quays when this building could be regenerated for use by the council as its main office.

“I understand PCC missed the opportunity to include legal break-out clauses when they took on the lease and the only way out of it now is to buy it or risk continued hikes in annual leasing costs.

“A huge omission which trapped the council and now a missed opportunity that someone should be answering for.”

PCC’s cabinet has already agreed to the purchase of Sand Martin House’s freehold, which will require borrowing money and amending the council’s budget, but the issue will go to full council before it's fully approved.

PCC says the purchase will lead to “financial savings in the short, medium, and long term” because future rental costs will be higher than the cost of borrowing to pay for the land.

It also says that the purchase should be considered entirely separately from the sale of the TK Maxx building.

“The purchase of Sand Martin House needs to be considered in isolation to any other commercial property activity as it will release the Council from a 20-year lease, delivering a saving to the authority due to the purchase cost being cheaper than the rent commitment,” a spokesperson said.

“Even if the Council moved to an alternative site, such as the TK Maxx building, the lease and rent commitments at Sand Martin House would remain.”

The issue is scheduled for discussion at PCC's next full council meeting on Monday, 22 May.