Taxpayer paying for Aylesbury Conservative Association's derelict site
Nearly £200,000 in rent was paid for the site that lies unused
A site in Aylesbury that has been derelict for years is owned by the Aylesbury Conservative Association.
A derelict Aylesbury site owned by the town’s Conservative Association is being propped up by the taxpayer to the tune of almost £200,000 a year.
The hoardings at the top of Walton Street which surround the plot of land where the Equitable Life buildings were based have not been maintained for several years after plans to turn the site into court buildings fell through.
As a result of this, fly-tipping, rat and anti-social behaviour problems have plagued the site.
The Court Services Estate officially manages the land on behalf of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
The Secretary of State leased it from the Aylesbury Conservative Association on a 150-year deal in August 2008, according to the Land Registry.
And according to the Aylesbury Conservative Association’s financial statements for the year ending 2019, the Court Services Estate paid the Party £188,944 in rent in this period.
The same documents show this is an increase of almost £10,000 from the amount paid in the year ending 2018.
This means the taxpayer has paid the Aylesbury Conservative Association more than £360,000 in the past two years to lease the site alone.
Richard Lloyd, Liberal Democrats councillor for Aylesbury Town Council, told the local democracy reporting service: “This is neither value for money nor good for democracy.
“I would like to see the site properly secured or ultimately used for a development that removes the fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour issues in that area.”
Land Registry documents indicate the site was valued at £1.9 million in May 2019.
Proposals from March 2012 showed Courts Services had planned to turn the derelict site into a three-storey court building featuring four crown courts.
These proposals were approved in June 2012 but never materialised after planning permission expired in 2015.
Instead, a series of applications to refurbish the Crown Court at Market Square were approved.
Aylesbury Conservative Association was contacted for comment.