A former Wirral primary school that already has planning permission for conversion into 44 apartments sells for more than £1m at auction. Tony McDonough reports
An unnamed buyer has paid more than £1m for the former Cole Street Primary School in Birkenhead which is set to become a residential development.
Wirral Council closed the school, which was built in 1929, in 2011 due to falling pupil numbers. The remaining 113 pupils were transferred to nearby Cathcart Street school.
In 2015 plans were submitted to turn the school into apartments. That scheme never happened but now the building close to Birkenhead Park, which sits in 0.66 acres of land, has planning consent for a 44-apartment scheme.
If that goes ahead it will comprise a four-bed duplex apartment, a three-bed duplex, 13 two-bed duplex apartments, 22 two-bed apartments and seven one-bed units. There will also be 11 new build apartments.
Now the building has changed hands at the latest Smith and Sons auction in Wirral. Also sold was a development site in Canning Street in Birkenhead, adjacent to Wirral Waters site, which went for £500,000.
And an office building in Argyle Street, again in Birkenhead, sold for £225,000, while a nearby five-storey property on historic Hamilton Square realised a final sale of £200,000.
Chris Johnson, auctioneer at Smith and Sons, said: “This was a good auction with some interesting lots.
“While residential is less busy than perhaps the norm, the auction results indicate good levels of interest and activity still in the development and commercial sectors.
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“While mortgage rates remain high and residential lending continues to be challenging, we expect this trend to continue. However, there are signs that rates will be dropping which will inevitably encourage the market to pick up.
“Once again ,the auction acts as a good barometer for the wider market and presents the perfect space in which to buy and sell property quickly, simply and with complete transparency.”
The next Smith and Sons auction will be taking place on December 6.