As part of a drive to reduce costs, North Dorset District Councillors have agreed to sell the Nordon premises on Salisbury Road in Blandford.
Members met on 4 April at Nordon and agreed the following:
- The marketing strategy
- The sale of the site on an unconditional basis
- A budget of 1.25 per cent plus VAT of the sale price to Strutt & Parker for external marketing of the site disposal
- The preparation of a programme and establishment of a project team to include member involvement (Nordon Project Board)
- Officers to review opportunities arising from the Housing & Planning Bill, an expression of interest to the Land Fund (Starter Homes) and also to promote a public private partnership
Martin Hamilton, North Dorset District Council’s Strategic Director, said:
“We need to make sure that North Dorset District Council’s estate is fit for the future. These proposed changes are about matching our resources to the demands of the communities that we serve. I would like to reassure people in North Dorset that we are committed to the delivery of services and that council officers will still operate in the heart of Blandford, for residents to access council services. The sale of Nordon will result in some significant savings, which is essential if we are going to meet our target savings.
“We have already joined up staffing and services with West Dorset District Council and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council and have made significant savings. We are now looking at a number of possibilities to streamline services, make further savings and increase income, in our pursuit to reduce costs by almost £2.6 million by 2020.”
Discussions on the proposed sale of Nordon have been taking place since 2014 and the decision to dispose of the site but maintain a local centre was agreed by Cabinet on 19 October 2015.
The next step is to advertise Nordon on the open market.
Council meetings will still take place in the district, following the sale of the Nordon premises.