Powys Workshop Had Been Sold In An ‘Underhanded And Suspicious’ Way
Claims that a north Powys workshop had been sold in an ‘underhanded and suspicious’ way have been rejected as ludicrous and untrue by Powys County Council.
Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Councillor Avril York hit back at an online petition criticising the sale of a former school workshop in Llangynnog at a public auction in March.
“Claims in the introduction to the online petition that the tenants, potential buyers and community council didn’t know about the terms of the sale are ludicrous and untrue,” she said.
“The tenants were first contacted nearly two years ago following a decision by the council to dispose of the workshops because they were not in a strategic location, were in poor condition and were not economic to run as they were losing money. The tenants were initially contacted by letter and then met face-to-face to be told that the workshops were being sold but that their tenancy agreements were safe.
“It was considered by our professional valuation team that the best method for sale was by auction and the site was duly listed for public auction in March. The tenants received confirmation of the sale in writing in February as did the local county councillor and the community council.
“Property details including existing lease information were provided as part of the auction pack and publicised at least three weeks before the sale. The workshops sold in March and the workshops continue to be operational and indeed the tenants have leases that are protected by statute. Any suggestion that the village has “lost its village workshops” are untrue.
“It is worth noting that one of the three units has been vacant since 2014 and that during the process the council did not receive contact from the tenants requesting new tenancy agreements as they were entitled to do up to one year before their leases expired – one of the leases expired in 2013 and the other in 2016,” she added.
Spotted something? Got a story? Email News@News.Wales
