The new owner of a car park offloaded for more than £1.4 million in a Greenwich Council “fire sale” says it has no plans to develop the site.

Abery Street car park, off Plumstead High Street, was one of two car parks to be sold at auction last Thursday, with a “Mrs Y” named as the winning bidder, offering £1,425,000 – more than three times the reserve price of £375,000.

Manchester-based Land and Securities said it had bought the land, but that it would “keep the site open, active and accessible as a modern pay-and-display car park, supporting local businesses, residents and visitors with convenient, well-managed parking right where it’s needed most”.

“We’re already in discussions with a leading parking operator to determine the best methods of management, ensuring the site is operated efficiently, transparently, and to the highest standards of service and compliance,” Chris Marsden, a director of the company, told The Greenwich Wire.

Marsden said the site would remain as a car park “for the foreseeable future” and that it expected to appoint another Manchester-based company, SIP Car Parks, to operate the car park.

Four car parks were in the auction catalogue at Strettons, with an 18-space car park at Torrance Close, behind Charlton Village, fetching £410,000, against a guide price of £230,000. But another car park next to the Charlton Assembly Rooms was pulled by the auctioneer, while one at Old Dover Road was withdrawn from sale due to concerns about a lease for an electric charging point.

The sales were part of a £33 million package of cuts approved by the Labour council’s cabinet last year. The Conservative leader Matt Hartley had branded them a “fire sale”, while hundreds of residents had signed petitions against them. 

The councillor in charge of the sales has resigned from Greenwich Council’s cabinet, citing family commitments, just two weeks after being quizzed about the sales by members of the public at a full council meeting. 

East Greenwich councillor Majid Rahman had been cabinet member for planning, estate renewal and development since July last year. “This role demands personal sacrifice, and I can no longer put my family and my own health second,” he said in a statement posted on social media.

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