Slough Council agrees to sell former Thames Valley University site

Senior councillors agreed to sell the former Thames Valley University site, also known as the North West Quadrant, in William Street, Slough, to a ‘special purchaser’.

The identity of the buyer and the price tag remain confidential, but Slough Borough Council leader James Swindlehurst (Lab: Cippenham Green) said the buyer is a “specialist regeneration organisation”.

The local authority, which effectively declared bankruptcy in 2021, is selling up to £600m of assets to reduce its £760m borrowing debt. It aims to sell £200m of its properties and land by April and another £200m by next year.

READ MORE: Slough Council set to sell former Thames Valley University site

It was previously told it needed to gain £300m from asset sales in order to pay back the £266m it borrowed from other local authorities by this September.

Speaking at the special cabinet meeting, Cllr Rob Anderson (Lab: Britwell & Northborough), lead member for financial oversight, said selling the North West Quadrant site will hit the council’s sales target.

He said: “Obviously this is one of the sites that we’ve been trying to dispose of to realise its value so that we can use the funds to pay down even more of the debt.

“If we accept this and go forward, this will be a considerable amount towards that target to pay off all of that temporary borrowing [£266m] by September.”

The former Thames Valley University site was originally earmarked for 1,300 homes (Image: Slough Borough Council)

Pat Hayes, executive director of housing and property said this is a “good deal” and will enable the development of a vacant site to be brought forward.

The local authority purchased the site in 2016 for £24.2m plus £1.4m in stamp duty and entered into a joint venture with regeneration company Muse to transform the site into 1,340 homes, 25 per cent of which are affordable, 467,180sqft of office space, and 43,900sqft retail.

Senior councillors were told a scheme similar to the original plan, which does not yet have planning permission, but with slightly less residential and commercial could be put forward “as quickly as possible” as soon as the development agreement is signed by the summer.

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In July 2022, the council announced it was backing away from the project as it could no longer financially commit to the 10-year project, which is yet to receive planning permission, and was seeking a buyer.

Mr Hayes told councillors that they didn’t place an overage provision, which would have effectively triggered a mechanism that would allow the council to receive additional funds after the sale’s completion if residential development did take place at the site.

Senior councillors agreed to sell the site on Tuesday, March 7.