Civic leaders in Gloucester have revealed the sale of the Herbert, Kimberley and Phillpotts (HKP) warehouses will not go ahead until planning permission to convert the building into a hotel is achieved.
Gloucester City Council moved its staff out of their offices at the Docks in 2019 and a prospective buyer is understood to be interested in the warehouses.
The council says it has reached an agreement in principle with the buyer but no formal exchange of contracts will take place until planning permission is granted.
Councillor Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kingsholm and Wotton) asked council leaders for an update on the sale and whether they were chasing the buyer to submit their plans.
Speaking at the full council meeting on March 24, he said: “It’s three years since we moved into Shire Hall and we are moving out again into Eastgate Street and still we have not completed the sale of Herbert, Kimberley and Phillpotts warehouses there.
“These are historic properties and we really don’t need them to be empty, month after month after month. We were told the company we were selling to was really good at regeneration.
“I just wonder why we have not received planning permission from them to convert the warehouses into a hotel. Are we chasing them about when they will get the application in?”
Performance and resources cabinet member Hannah Norman (C, Quedgeley Fieldcourt) confirmed that officers are chasing the prospective purchaser.
She said: “Obviously in the time since vacating HKP we have had a pandemic but the purchasers are still very keen to proceed and we are working with them so that the plans can be submitted to the planning committee as soon as possible.”
By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter