Another Kirklees Council building is close to being sold on to private developers.
The former Mirfield Town Council offices were mothballed almost three years ago after they became too run-down for town councillors to work from.
Amid estimates of more than £360,000 of work to make them habitable again, Kirklees Council chiefs decided to put them on the market.
Nine months on and a developer has vowed to buy them if they get planning permission.
Plans for a mixed use building have been submitted to Kirklees Council this week by a firm called ARBA developments.
Its website reveals it works with major chains, including the people behind the Lounges restaurants and Costa Coffee.
A spokesperson for Lounges, which has more than 100 venues across the UK, told the Examiner they were not interested in the premises.
Costa Coffee was approached for comment but it could not confirm or deny if it was involved.
Along with space for a restaurant, cafe, bar or shop on the ground floor, the application also seeks to include five one bed apartments on the first floor.
ARBA says it wants to demolish the small lean-to on the side of Ings Grove Park and build a two storey extension which would be clad in metal sheeting.
Paul Kemp, Kirklees Council’s Service Director for Economy, Regeneration and Culture, confirmed the sale was reliant on the firm getting the go-ahead.
He said: “The council has agreed to sell the former Mirfield Council Offices subject to planning permission being granted.”
Mirfield isn’t alone in having its high profile public buildings sold on the open market.
The council is also selling the former Crown Court Buildings opposite Huddersfield Town Hall and Red House Museum at Gomersal.
The future of Tolson Museum and Batley Museum, which has closed to the public, are also uncertain.
Kirklees has been handing over some of its unwanted premises to community groups using asset transfer procedures including the former Dewsbury Museum in Crow Nest Park.
A host of other public buildings, including libraries, are expected to be at risk over the next year or two, as the council continues to rely on cash sales to keep itself afloat following £200m of cuts to its budget by the government.
