North Yorkshire’s crime commissioner said last night she would listen to any post auction offers after two police stations put up for sale failed to sell when they went under the hammer.
Bosses at North Yorkshire Police had hoped to raise more than £2m from the sale but bids did not meet the reserve prices of £1.9m for Harrogate and £450,000 for Helmsley.
Yesterday, Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner said: “There is always a potential for ‘post auction’ offers via the auction house and these would be considered should they arise.”
“Whilst neither property reached its reserve value at the auction, meaning that the properties were not sold, auctions are an effective way of testing the market interest and we have found this to be a really valuable exercise providing us with a good basis for future negotiations,” she added.
The crime commissioner said that there had been no cost to North Yorkshire Police or the Police and Crime Commissioner to put the two properties in the auction, in Leeds, on Tuesday.
Harrogate Borough Council had planned to build new offices on the site but that had to be aborted after it was announced the building had been listed by English Heritage.
It is now trying to find alternative premises.
A new building on the outskirts of Harrogate has been built to replace the force’s former town centre site on North Park Road.
The former Helmsley Station already has planning consent for residential properties. The commissioner has previously confirmed plans to close the force headquarters at Newby Wiske Hall, near Northallerton, to provide a more cost-effective base.
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