The long-anticipated sale of the vacant Herbert, Kimberley, and Phillpotts (HKP) warehouses in Gloucester Docks may soon move forward. These former council offices, empty for seven years, have posed significant challenges for Gloucester City Council in their attempts to sell the Grade II-listed 19th-century buildings.
Since 2023, the council has been working to offload the warehouses, located above Dr Foster, with an agreed sale price of £2 million. However, progress has been slow due to complexities in developing the “difficult site,” which has remained closed since 2019.
Now, a fresh strategy is set for consideration at the City Council cabinet meeting on May 13. The proposal involves disposing of the site through an underlease arrangement. This approach would permit the council to retain the major lease while granting an underlease to the purchaser, simplifying the legal and financial process of the sale.
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Liberal Democrat council leader Jeremy Hilton explained that this method represents a cleaner, more practical route to completing the sale. “It makes it easier to sell the site,” he said. “The only risk is that if there were a collapse, the building would revert to the council.”
Hilton contrasted this with the previous administration’s plan that intended to completely offload all interest in the property, a route that encountered obstacles. He acknowledged the details were complex but emphasized the new plan would “unlock its sale, make the process less complicated, and enable the regeneration of the buildings.”
The council is also expected to seek approval from the Canal & River Trust for a licence to underlet the building. The arrangement would likely involve the same purchaser and the previously agreed price.
This decision comes after revelations earlier this year that maintaining the empty warehouses has cost taxpayers approximately £132,000 annually in security and upkeep. The underlease proposal aims to move the site out of limbo and breathe new life into these historic docks landmarks.