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£1m sweetener clinches sale of historic building
‘Backroom stitch-up’ claim over secret deal with developer
ONE of the oldest buildings in King’s Cross was sold off this week after developers offered Camden Council a £1 million sweetener payment.
Senior councillors said they could hardly refuse a bid by developer Argent for the Stanley Buildings.
The company plans to demolish the listed block as part of its £2 billion redevelopment of land behind King’s Cross and St Pancras stations.
Financial details surrounding the deal have been shrouded in secrecy and were only circulated to a select group of council chiefs in a special report known as “the pink papers”.
Camden Council has been desperate to keep the agreement secret in the face of calls for the block to be sold to a housing association, refurbished and converted into affordable homes.
But the Tribune understands the block will change hands for roughly £3 million. This figure, the “pink papers” reveal, includes Argent’s initial £2 million bid and a “premium” of £1 million paid by the developers to secure the deal.
The revelation of a bonus payment has angered protesters who were this week describing the negotiations as a “backroom stitch-up”.
No opportunity was given for a housing association to enter a bid for the Stanley Buildings. Instead, negotiations were carried out behind closed doors.
Liberal Democrat councillor John Bryant told a Camden cabinet meeting that there was little point offering the block to a housing association because it would not be able to match Argent’s offer once the premium had been included.
He said: “Bearing in mind the premium in the offer it is unlikely that a housing association would be able to make a similar bid.”
The building was acquired by the Town Hall under slum clearance powers decades ago.
Cllr Bryant’s comments were endorsed by finance director Mike O’Donnell, who said the final sale price was the best available for Camden and above the general valuation for the property.
Argent is offering the extra money because the building stands in the way of plans to re-align St Pancras Road as part of the wider development.
Although the sale needs ministerial consent, the government has already approved Argent’s outline plan for the area.
The future of Stanley Buildings is a contentious issue because the block is already subject to a High Court order outlawing its demolition on the grounds that the King’s Cross redevelopment is subject to an imminent judicial review.
Campaign group King’s Cross Think Again argues that councillors who approved Argent plans in November last year were wrongly advised that they could not turn down the massive blueprint. The case is due at the Royal Courts of Justice later this month for an initial hearing.
Michael Edwards, from King’s Cross Think Again, said the sale was “premature” given the court action.
He added: “If the planning consent is quashed, uses of Stanley buildings will be up for review.
“The need to re-align St Pancras Road, said to justify demolition, will be part of that as well as the future potential uses of the building.”
Ernest James, a former Camden councillor who represents King’s Cross Conservation Area Advisory Committee, said: “The idea here is that nothing is of value unless it makes a profit.”
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