A PROPERTY consultant said they have been instructed to sell the council's Taunton Technology Park at a guide price of £4 million

Alder King said they have been instructed by Somerset Council to dispose of Taunton Technology Park situated off Lisieux Way.

Taunton Technology Park has been in public hands since 1972, with the main building being occupied by Thales until 2019.

Cllr Liz Leyshon, deputy leader of Somerset Council, said: “The financial emergency facing councils across the country is well documented and in Somerset, we have needed to take many difficult decisions to bridge a funding gap of £100m for 2024/25.

"In response to our requests for exceptional financial support, the Government has agreed to a capitalisation direction, encouraging us to sell assets and use the receipts to fund essential services like adults and children’s social care.

"Evaluation of and, where appropriate, rationalisation of our property and land portfolio is required to reduce our costs and achieve capital receipts.

"In the meantime we continue to call on the Government to take urgent action to fix the system of funding local government which is fundamentally broken.”

A spokesperson for Somerset Council also said a key decision relating to the sale was published back in January. 

The complex comprises three industrial/office buildings, two of which are let, and two ancillary buildings.

In total, the buildings provide 98,435 sq ft of space and occupy a site of 5.95 acres.

Building 2 is let to Novanta Technologies UK Ltd.

Building 3 is let to Assura Aspire Ltd, a FTSE 250 listed real estate investment trust.

Somerset County Gazette:

The property is occupied by Synlab, a leading provider of laboratory diagnostic services for many healthcare providers including the NHS.

Both buildings generate a combined annual rental income of £325,141. Building 1 and the ancillary conference and canteen buildings are vacant.

Andrew Maynard, partner at Alder King, said: “This is a unique opportunity to acquire a sizeable freehold property comprising existing buildings and land in central Taunton.

“The property offers an attractive income stream from Buildings 2 and 3 and offers scope to add further value through proactive asset management.

“It also has strong development potential for the remaining buildings and land, subject to securing the necessary consents.”