A DEAL is set to be signed in a bid to find buyers for Lancashire County Council’s redundant property portfolio.

Property giant Carillion Construction has been signed up to market old offices, schools and nurseries in the east and north of the county.

Not only would selling off disused buildings provide a financial windfall, it would also reduce the cost of keeping empty properties secure and maintained.

School mergers and redevelopments, and the closure of several welfare and youth advice shops in East Lancashire, has left a number of building unoccupied.

Several attempts have been made, for example, to sell off the former Padiham Primary site, after the school was amalgamated on one site two years ago. County Coun Geoff Driver, county council leader, said: “The proposal is to take a much more innovative approach to dealing with surplus council buildings, so that communities and the local economy get the maximum return. As the council reduces its workforce and makes more efficient use of its various sites, we’re freeing up a growing number of them at a time when the property market is not at its strongest.”

Rather than simply selling them off to the highest bidder, the plan is to properly assess each site’s potential from a commercial perspective and then make an informed decision about selling or redeveloping it.

“We’ll still sell sites where appropriate, while retaining an interest in others. We expect the sites themselves to get a new lease of life for a wide range of uses that will benefit the people of Lancashire for years to come.”

A similar deal has been struck with Bamber Bridge- based Eric Wright Construction for county council properties in south and central Lancashire.