Sale of former Stibbington outdoor centre agreed

A former council-owned residential outdoor education centre visited by thousands of children on school trips is being sold to an unnamed buyer.

The Grade II listed building in Stibbington, near Peterborough, was built in the 1870s and first used as a school.

Cambridgeshire County Council closed the centre in 2023 with the authority facing a "substantial loss" as visitor numbers declined. The site was put up for sale last year.

Members of the council's assets and procurement committee agreed on Wednesday to sell it to the preferred bidder, but full details of the sale and its future use have not been made public.

Papers published by the council said the buyer planned to use the building "in a manner that respects the location and will bring employment opportunities to the local area".

Committee chairman Ros Hathorn, a Liberal Democrat, said she was looking forward to being able to let the public know what the building would be used for.

Conservative Mark Goldsack said the plans were the "perfect solution" for the building.

Nine proposals to buy the building had been lodged.

The council had previously agreed that the money raised from the sale would be invested into the authority's other two outdoor centres, at Grafham Water, near Huntingdon, and Burwell House, on the Fens, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillors heard this week that the money should not be ringfenced for specific schemes but a proposal could be put together for investment in the other centres.

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