Three historic buildings in Ely could be sold for £3

The Oliver Cromwell House is one of the three buildings that could be sold. (Image: Cambridge News) Sign up to our free email newsletter to receive the latest breaking news and daily roundups More Newsletters Subscribe Please enter a valid email Something went wrong, please try again later. More Newsletters We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you.

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This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info × Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice Councillors have given their backing to the potential sale of three historic buildings in Ely to the City of Ely Council for £3. The buildings include Maltings Cottage, the Oliver Cromwell House, and The Maltings.

The city council is already leasing the buildings, but has been in discussions with East Cambridgeshire District Council about either extending the leases or buying the freeholds. Officers told councillors at a meeting of the district council’s finance and assets committee this week (March 27) that the city council had not yet decided if it wanted to either buy the buildings or continue to lease them. They therefore asked the committee to approve the sale of the buildings for £1 each, or to approve the extension of the leases for 25 years if the city council decided not to buy the sites.

Officers added that in the case of the Oliver Cromwell House the sale would need the consent of the Diocese of Ely. Councillor Anna Bailey ( Conservative ), leader of the district council, said she believed this was the “right thing to do”. She said the district council had local government reorganisation “hanging over” it, which could see the authority cease to exist in a few years time.

Cllr Bailey said selling or extending the leases of the buildings would put them “in the hands of people who have the interests of people in Ely at their heart”. Councillor Bill Hunt (Conservative) said the city council had “done a very good job” with Sessions House after it took over the building. He also highlighted the district council’s ‘unknown future’ under local government reorganisation and said the authority needed to “guard for the future” to keep the buildings for public use.

Councillor Chike Akinwale ( Liberal Democrat ) asked why the buildings were proposed to be sold for £1 each. Officers said they could not be given away for free and needed to have a value. They said because the buildings were proposed to be sold to another public body and the uses planned meant there was a “community value” to sell the buildings at that rate.

Councillor John Trapp (Liberal Democrat) questioned to what extent the buildings were in need of repairs and asked if “they are falling down”. Officers said they were “not quite building falling down repairs”, but said they were in need of investment. In the case of Maltings Cottage officers said the building had deteriorated further than the district council would have liked, and said this was partly due to it not being used when it was first leased to the city council.

Officers highlighted that the Oliver Cromwell House is an old timber building and would always need ongoing maintenance and repair work. They added that the city council is “fully aware” that there are also some issues with the timbers on the front of the building. Councillor Alison Whelan (Liberal Democrat) shared concerns that the city council “do not necessarily have reserves to meet” the ongoing investment needed in the buildings.

However, she said it was for the city council to make the decision of whether or not it took this responsibility on. Councillor Alan Sharp (Conservative), chair of the committee, echoed this and said the city council had to decide whether it wanted to lease or buy the buildings, and said there was “no pressure” from the district council. Cllr Bailey highlighted that the buildings were currently leased to the city council on a full repairing lease, which meant it was already responsible for maintaining them.

The committee gave unanimous support to either selling or extending the lease of the buildings to the city council, depending on its decision. To get more breaking news and top stories delivered directly to your phone, join our new WhatsApp community. Click this link to receive your daily dose of CambridgeshireLive content.

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