Parish council may bid for Greenham control tower

West Berkshire Council announced plans to sell the control tower (pictured) on Greenham Common earlier in the year, to the dismay of parish councillors who feared it would be sold to a private buyer.
The parish had expressed an interest in its purchase, considering ideas to turn the venue into a museum, visitor centre and cafe, and has now seen the historic tower ‘listed’ under the Community Right to Bid scheme of the Localism Act.
It will now have six weeks to declare it intends to put in a bid to purchase the site, and will have six months to submit that bid.
During that time the control tower cannot be sold to anyone else, yet West Berkshire Council is not obliged to accept the bid proposed by the parish council nor the highest bid.
Clerk to Greenham Parish Council, John Boston said: “[We are] very pleased that West Berkshire Council has recognised the community value of this iconic building.
“The control tower has not yet been placed on the market but in anticipation Greenham Parish Council has already commissioned a broad order of cost estimates for the conversion of the control tower to provide a variety of uses including public toilets, a heritage centre and a viewing gallery.
“It will now make a start on the production of detailed plans.”
However, the chairman of Greenham Parish Council, Tony Forward added there were concerns that the bid would not be successful.
“Even if we raise what we think is reasonable it doesn’t stop it going on the open market.
“The positive thing is we are showing there’s support for it, but there’s this concern that all we have managed to do is put a hold on the process.”
If after six months no sale price has been agreed by the two councils the control tower will be put on the open market.