Middlesbrough's former House of Fraser building to be sold

A former House of Fraser building on Teesside is to be sold to a regeneration organisation.

Middlesbrough Council has agreed to dispose of the building that housed the department store having bought it in 2020 for £1m.

It has been standing empty since the retailer moved out two years ago.

Councillors were told the Middlesbrough Development Corporation (MDC), led by mayor Ben Houchen, had met an undisclosed valuation for the property.

The MDC, which is now the local planning authority for part of the town centre and the Middlehaven area, is also set to buy the Zetland multi-storey car park.

Councillor Theo Furness, executive member for regeneration, said: "These sales will represent best value for Middlesbrough and remove ongoing costs for the council.

"The sale of House of Fraser will bring new investment into a really important town centre site."

A business case for the disposal, presented in a report to the council's executive, said the sale would generate "a significant capital receipt" for the cash-strapped local authority which had been on the edge of declaring effective bankruptcy.

It also said the building required major investment to be brought back into use "beyond what Middlesbrough Council can alone provide".

Last month, the council announced it had been awarded £2m of Levelling Up funding to pour new life into the building as part of a £20m investment programme to revitalise the town.

Plans had been put forward to turn the site into a cultural and music venue.

It is now understood, when the building is sold, the council could apply to the government to use the earmarked funding elsewhere in the town.

The council has incurred "significant holding costs" of about £100,000 per year as owner of the property, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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