With property sales by the Commission for the New Towns already totalling over £500m since 1979, the commission has issued its annual report and set itself a target of exceeding the £1bn mark within five years.
This figure should be well within the commission’s reach, with sales for the last financial year amounting to over £100m.
Presenting the annual reports and accounts, Sir Neil Shields, the commission’s chairman, said: “Not only has the sale of assets again exceeded the target figure, but the size and value of the commission’s estate have continued to grow.”
At March 31, total assets were almost £1bn with revenue for 1985-86 at £104.9m.
Although the commission expects some deceleration in disposals as the prime properties are snapped up and the sales are dominated by secondary and tertiary properties, they still have some very attractive items in the portfolio.
These include, most notably, the “TC6” site — 8.5 acres in Crawley town centre on which the commission has secured planning permission for 250,000 sq ft of shopping.
A tender will be held for the site and the commission hopes that a developer will be selected early in the new year.
