Council sell-offs make £1.5m at auction

A plot of land owned by Birmingham City Council has been sold at auction for more than £1m, paving the way for redevelopment.

The one-acre (0.4 hectare) site, off Coleshill Road in Hodge Hill, had a guide price of £400,000 and had been listed as suitable for educational, community, or residential purposes.

It was one of several sites sold off by the local authority last week as it looks to offload many of its assets in the face of huge financial challenges.

Separately, a block of flats in Wolverhampton City Centre was sold for £2.1m before the Bond Wolfe auction started.

The 30 flats, at St George's Parade, close to Wulfrun Shopping Centre, had a guide price of £1.8m.

Sandwell Council and the City of Wolverhampton Council also had lots in the sale.

Land at Tasker Street, West Bromwich, sold for £128,000, while two terraced properties on Byrne Road, in Wolverhampton went for £265,000.

It is however Birmingham City Council's sales that have attracted the most attention as the local authority looks to get its finances in order after declaring a section 114 notice last year, effectively declaring bankruptcy.

It sold more than £56m worth of assets earlier in the year, including a city centre car park and a former children's centre.

It is also looking to pass on the responsibility for and costs of running some of its libraries and community centres to other organisations.

Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive of Bond Wolfe, said while the latest Birmingham plots offered "excellent opportunities for a range of uses," there was no guarantee on planning applications being granted.

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.