Half a dozen sites owned by Norfolk council to be sold off

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Half a dozen council-owned properties and land are set to be sold off, while part of a park and ride site will be leased out for a new use.

Members of Norfolk County Council's Reform-controlled cabinet have agreed to declare the buildings and land as surplus to County Hall's requirements.

The decision is part of a regular process where council officials assess land and buildings which the council no longer needs and sells or rents them to bring extra cash into the authority's coffers.

Nick Taylor, cabinet member for commercial assets and revenue generation, said: "The property team is tasked with, not only managing and maintaining property assets, but also with disposal.

"These are properties the council either has no purpose for, properties at the end of their life or where we wish to transfer to existing leaseholders."

Councillors at Friday's (September 11) meeting agreed sites in Gorleston, Aylsham, Hopton, South Walsham and Nordelph, near Downham Market, should be put up for sale.

The former Norfolk Coastal Centre in Gorleston, which used to be home to the British Red Cross mobility aids service, is one of the properties to be sold off.

The charity has now moved to a new home in Lowestoft and County Hall officers said they no longer needed the Woodfarm Lane site.

Four farms which are currently part of the council's County Farms estate – some 16,000 acres of land let to tenant farmers – will also now be put up for sale.

They are Old Oak Cottage at Hopton, Neatmoor Hall Farm buildings at Nordelph, Highfield Farm buildings in South Walsham and Woodling Cottage, also in South Walsham.

Officers say those properties are no longer needed for use as part of the County Farms estate.

Councillors are also agreed a small area of land at Bure Valley Lane in Aylsham, originally bought in case it was needed for construction of the A140 Aylsham bypass in the 1970s, should be sold to the owner of the property next to it.

The Harford Park and Ride site (Image: Mike Page)

The cabinet also agreed that just under an acre of the Harford Park and Ride site should be leased out, with officers saying that the site is "operating below its design capacity" and leasing a section of it will "generate significant long term income for the county council".

The site will be leased to Fastned UK Limited, to be used as an electric vehicle charging hub, for 30 years.

The council also agreed to transfer the freehold of Barkers Lane Playing Field in Sprowston to Sprowston Cricket Club.

The field has been home to Norfolk County Cricket Club, since it moved from Horsford in 2025.

The county council, which needs to make £35.9m of cuts and savings over the next year to plug a funding gap.

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