Peterborough City Council is set to seek cabinet approval for the sale of the former TK Maxx building at 62–68 Bridge Street in the city centre. The decision will be considered at a meeting on Tuesday 16 December.
Cabinet members will be updated on the results of a marketing exercise, which recommends the sale of the property to Bridge Street (March) Limited. Approval is also being sought to recycle the net proceeds from the sale back into the Towns Fund. The council originally purchased the building in 2020 for £4,164,346, including fees, of which £4 million was funded through the Towns Fund grant.
The building had initially been earmarked to house The Vine project, but in 2023 it was confirmed that refurbishing the site for the project was no longer economically viable. The Vine is now planned to be delivered across three alternative locations: Central Library, Peterscourt, and the Goods Shed building in Fletton Quays.
The Towns Fund is a government-funded programme, which allocated £22.9 million to Peterborough for projects designed to support local economic growth.
Councillor Mohammed Farooq, Cabinet Member for Growth and Regeneration, said: “Subject to cabinet’s approval, the sale of the former TK Maxx building will be a significant moment for the council. We’re confident the developer will be able to breathe new life into such a vital city centre site, as a mixed-use residential led-scheme.
“The marketing exercise has been positive reflecting the market’s continued interest in the city and resulted in six bids for evaluation, all of which align with our need as a local authority to achieve best value, however the value of the sale is less than the price originally paid in 2020. This reflects significant market changes, particularly post covid impacts on town centres, broader economic and local factors such as interest rate increases making borrowing more expensive, which in turn, reduces property values.”
The cabinet meeting will take place at 4pm in the Engine Shed at Sand Martin House. The public can attend in person or watch via the council’s YouTube livestream.
