Four council-owned sites in Kendal could move towards disposal after being identified as surplus to Westmorland and Furness Council’s current service needs.
The properties are Mintsfeet Highways Depot, County Hall, the Kendal East family hub site at 42a Grasmere Crescent, and land adjacent to Wainwright House on Fowl Ing Lane. The wider list contains 12 sites across the district and also includes former public conveniences in Milnthorpe, Ambleside and Cartmel.
The proposals were considered at a full council meeting at Kendal Town Hall on Thursday 24 September 2026. Councillors were asked to confirm the properties as “surplus to current service needs” and add them to the council’s capital programme.
However, the outcome was not published by Friday evening. The council’s online decision record for the item still showed the status “For Determination”.
Which Kendal sites are included?
Kendal has more properties on the surplus list than any other location in the district. The dates on which the sites were declared surplus by the council’s Cabinet are:
- Mintsfeet Highways Depot: 15 July 2025.
- County Hall and offices: 21 April 2026.
- Kendal East site, 42a Grasmere Crescent: 14 July 2026.
- Land adjacent to Wainwright House, Fowl Ing Lane: 14 July 2026.
The list also covers the former Milnthorpe Public Conveniences in Market Square, the former Low Fold Public Conveniences in Ambleside and the former Cartmel Public Conveniences. Milnthorpe is about seven miles south of Kendal, while Ambleside is about 13 miles north west and Cartmel about 12 miles south west.
What a surplus declaration means
Being placed on the list does not mean a property will be sold immediately. The council’s report sets out a five-stage process for each site.
- The property is declared surplus to service needs.
- It is offered to other council services.
- It is assessed for possible retention as a source of income.
- It is screened for transfer to a partner organisation.
- It is screened for a Community Asset Transfer.
After those stages, a site can be offered to a community group, sold on the open market or demolished. Once the full council confirms the list, authority to sell is delegated to an officer. The Strategic Director of Resources can authorise a sale after consulting the Leader and Deputy Leader, while the Estates and Investment Manager decides the method of sale.
Community groups and charities that could use one of the properties may therefore have an opportunity to pursue a Community Asset Transfer before an open-market sale. The report names Susan Roberts, Director of Finance, as the contact for the process.
County Hall and the Kendal East family hub
County Hall has a different status from most of the properties. Along with Barrow’s Nan Tait Centre, it is described in the report as an asset “of significant community interest”. Its disposal must return to Cabinet for approval, meaning the decision will be considered at a public meeting. Any disposal worth more than £750,000 must also go through the council’s key decision process.
The council says County Hall will be offered “in lots and as a whole”, together with neighbouring land at Busher Walk. That land was declared surplus by the former Cumbria County Council and transferred to Westmorland and Furness Council during local government reorganisation. The report says the different sale options are intended to “optimise the number and level of offers”.
Three areas of the County Hall car park are also proposed for removal from public use as part of the sale. The main pay-and-display car park at the rear is being retained.
The Grasmere Crescent property is labelled “Family Hub site: Kendal East” on the council’s site plans. The council report and Cabinet papers do not explain what has happened to services previously provided there. The council’s online hub finder no longer lists an East South Lakeland hub. Its current listing for Kendal is Kendal West, at St Thomas’ School in Kendal Green.
The council must seek the best price it can reasonably obtain under Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972, although the report says it has some discretion to sell below value. Any money raised would be capital rather than funding for day-to-day services and would first be considered under the council’s Flexible Capital Receipts Strategy.
For residents concerned about County Hall, the next formal opportunity to scrutinise its disposal will be when the matter returns to Cabinet. The full council’s decision on the wider surplus list is due to be published by Westmorland and Furness Council.