§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 1 February,Official Report, columns 919–20, if the Yorkshire regional health authority's building at Park parade, Harrogate was (a) placed on the open market and (b) advertised for sale on the basis of competitive tenders before its sale; who provided an independent valuation of the building for the NHS before its sale; what the valuation was; and on what basis this figure was calculated. [18829]
§ Mr. MaloneThe sale of the former Yorkshire regional health authority building at Park parade, Harrogate was linked to the procurement of new premises for the NHS Executive Northern and Yorkshire regional office, in Durham. This was to avoid the serious risk, confirmed by independent property experts, that the Harrogate offices might remain as a liability to the health service, unsold and unlet for a considerable period.
The linked sale and procurement was put to competitive tender, and the tender was let to Dysart Developments Ltd. on the basis of the best financial return to the health service.
289WThe building was valued prior to tender by the district valuer, at £2.5 million, on the basis of his appraisal of the property and his knowledge of the local market. The successful tender incorporated an offer for the Harrogate building in excess of this figure, at £2.825 million.