Scarborough Council to decide on whether to publicly auction 'dangerous' properties

The two properties, 6/6a and 7 Hanover Road, Scarborough, will likely be publicly auctioned by the council in order to gain capital and to avoid “substantial repair costs” which are said to exceed the value of the properties.

According to a report prepared ahead of the cabinet meeting on Friday July 1, both of the properties, which are shop properties on the ground floor with residential accommodation above, are currently vacant and “in very poor condition”.

The council owns seven properties on the east side of Hanover Road and a further six properties on the west side of the road.

The two properties that are proposed for auction are likely to be sold as combined lots “as many of the defects run across both properties and it would be difficult for any buyers to effect repairs if these were in separate ownerships”.

The council has said it is currently costing it money to hold the properties and “this will continue unless the properties are repaired and re-let”.

But as property 7 is “suffering from subsidence and other inherent structural issues” and 6/6a is “in a very poor and potentially dangerous state of repair” with a prohibition order in place preventing occupation, the costs of repair “do not make economic sense”.

The report presented to the cabinet committee also notes that a similar nearby property, number 71 Victoria Road, recently sold at auction for £49,000 and “at this level of value the cost of repairs is uneconomic.”

However, the auctioned lot will possibly sell for over £100,000 as Scarborough Council has said that it will have to seek permission from North Yorkshire County Council when disposing of a property the value of which exceeds a hundred thousand pounds.

The necessary approval will be sought in advance of the auction