Council to spend £10m+ buying Waterloo 'development opportunity'

"The site benefits from a central and strategic location in Waterloo and will help unlock significant regeneration of the area, and bring much needed investment and environmental improvements to the wider area," says a council report published this week.

The report adds that: "The original proposed uses of the site have not come forward as intended and are unlikely to under the existing ownership."

Cllr Andy Wilson, cabinet member for finance, will next week decide whether the council will buy the land.

If approved, the purchase would be funded by borrowing.

The officers' report warns that "... the council would need to be aware of the risk that if rent levels do not cover the borrowing costs, there will be an impact on the council's wider revenue budget".

At this stage neither the precise location nor the full cost of the site purchase are in the public domain. The report merely notes that under the council's constitution, "acquisitions of property of over £10 million are delegated to the cabinet member for finance, in consultation with the leader of the council".