Scrapped Wolverhampton fire base to go on sale this month

A disused £10 million fire control centre in Wolverhampton that was abandoned before it was even finished is to go on the market by the end of July.

A private buyer is being sought for the building at Wolverhampton Business Park. A sale would end years of concern about the risk of taxpayers footing a £48m rental bill over the life of a 25-year lease if someone else does not take it on. The owners of the building – Jersey-based Control Centre General Partner Limited – went into receivership earlier this year.

The building came with a contract requiring the Government to pay rent of £1.4m a year until 2033, rising 2.5 per cent every five years.

But the government sought special permission to sell its lease.

Local government minister Baroness Hanham said the building will be marketed for office use – with particular mention of a £6,000 espresso coffee machine inside it that was paid for by taxpayers.

The building is one of nine centres that were set up by the former Labour deputy prime minister John Prescott but were scrapped when costs spiralled out of control.

The aim was to bring the control rooms of the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Hereford and Worcester fire services all together under one roof.

Nationally 46 centres were meant to be replaced with nine new ones but the centres were scrapped in 2010 after costs for completing the centres soared from £120m to £635m – meaning the move could no longer go-ahead.

Speaking about the intended sale, Baroness Hanham said today: "Marketing begins in late July, with sale boards going up at the five buildings."