Council chooses bidder for site housing temple

Peterborough City Council has selected a bidder to buy a community building that currently houses a Hindu temple and a soup kitchen.

The sale of the New England Complex in Millfield forms part of the authority's ongoing efforts to reduce debts by selling its assets.

The council confirmed it received two offers from bidders named A and B, and on Tuesday night the cabinet approved the sale to B. The winning bid has not been named, but the temple told the BBC it believed it had missed out.

Mohammed Jamil, Labour's finance cabinet member for Peterborough, said the sale followed a "competitive best and final offer process".

The complex on Rock Road contains seven community-use units including the Bharat Hindu Samaj, which told the BBC it was one of the bidders seeking to buy the building.

The Hindu temple was established in 1986 and is used by worshippers from across Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.

Dinesh Odera, who attended Tuesday's cabinet meeting on behalf of the temple, called the situation "confusing", but said the community believed "their bid to buy the building has been unsuccessful".

"The temple's future is looking bleak," he said.

"When the authority discussed how it would handle the relocation of occupiers [at the meeting], our assumption... is we weren't successful."

"This has been a very rushed, ill-calculated effort by the city council to plug its black hole that they created themselves," Mr Odera, who volunteers at the temple, added.

Peterborough City Council said the successful bidder would be informed "once the decision is capable of being implemented".

Speaking at Tuesday's meeting, Jamil said: "A comprehensive, evidence-based, factual assessment of both the bids had been undertaken, leading to the recommendation to accept the offer that represents best value.

"Clearly one bidder will be disappointed with our decision. Therefore, I ask our officers to support the unsuccessful bidder with guidance, should that be necessary, to meet their future property needs."

He further added: "It would be unwise for us to reveal details of the successful bid and bidder before this time, as if the sale cannot be completed, it could compromise the council's ability to invite further bids and achieve a fair price for taxpayers."

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