North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner can confirm that the sale of Newby Wiske Hall, the former headquarters of North Yorkshire Police, has today (19 August) been completed for £2.5 million.
Philip Allott says he is ‘delighted’ the end of the process has been reached which sees PGL, a company that provides educational activity courses for schools and young people, buy the 17th century manor house.
PGL agreed to purchase the property in 2017 paying a 10 per cent deposit of £250,000. In the period since that agreement, a number of challenges beyond the control of the Commissioner, including judicial reviews, revised planning decisions and other legal issues, have delayed the sale. Now these processes have concluded, the sale has completed and the balance of the agreed price will be paid.
The sale allowed North Yorkshire Police to move its headquarters from Newby Wiske to Northallerton’s Alverton Court in 2017 – a move which has saved taxpayers £600,000 per year ever since. That amount has now increased to £1.1m annually due to the co-location of Northallerton Police Station and the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service HQ at the fully refurbished and modernised base which is equipped with everything needed for modern policing and fire and rescue.
In May 2020, the purchasers asked to extend the time they had to complete the sale of Newby Wiske for a further two years and agreed to pay for the costs in maintaining the building in that time, an amount of £24,000 per month.
North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott says completing the sale is an important moment:
I am delighted to have finally concluded this sale which I know will be welcomed by the majority of taxpayers from across North Yorkshire.
Moving North Yorkshire Police from a historic building to a modern headquarters was the right decision which has helped transform the way the force works, allowed us to bring more services together in one place and, ultimately, has improved the service to our communities.
It has also saved a substantial amount of taxpayers’ money, despite the delays. With £1.1 million now being saved every year, that money has been able to go towards the priorities we all expect from our emergency services – keeping us safe and feeling safe at a time when resources are under increasing pressure.
It has taken much longer than anyone hoped for the sale of Newby Wiske Hall to complete and I thank the community for their patience during what I know has been a challenging time. I wish PGL well for the future and hope that the young people, who will have the opportunity to learn and grow within the Hall and its grounds, come to love North Yorkshire just as much as we do.
