Council sells plots of land in village for £1 each

Council bosses have handed over the ownership of two plots of land in a Lincolnshire village for £1 each.

The two public open spaces, located on Amos Way and Church Walk in Sibsey, were now under the ownership of the parish council.

A meeting of East Lindsey District Council's executive board unanimously approved the decision on Wednesday.

A report found that although the plots had a combined market value of around £225,000, they did not offer any development potential due to their protected status.

The Amos Way site covers approximately 0.91 acres (0.37 hectares) and includes children's play equipment, with the rest designated as recreational space.

The land was previously leased to the parish council on a peppercorn rent, with its permitted use under the lease being as open space, including the repair and maintenance of the grounds and equipment.

The smaller Church Walk plot is a grassed area with semi-mature trees. This was originally transferred to the district council as part of an open space agreement with a housing developer.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the disposal of the assets meant the facilities would be managed at a local level.

The report stated that the land was designated open space in the current Local Plan and, as such, was "unlikely to be supported for other uses without alternative recreation land being provided elsewhere in the village".

Despite its "potential market value", it was also "very unlikely" to be realised given current planning policy.

The meeting was also told there had been a number of transfers involving the disposal of council assets to town and parish councils in recent years.

In April last year, the council agreed to sell a seafront plot of land in Skegness for £1 to make way for a new Travelodge and Starbucks.

At the time, officials said the land had been "underused for many years" and the sale would lead to jobs and investment.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.