PLANS by Malvern Hills District Council to sell off two houses it owns close to the town centre have been challenged by the council's Democratic group.

The group says that 10 and 12 Priory Road should not be sold, but should be used to provide affordable accommodation for local young people.

Last August, the council was approached by a developer who was interested in buying them. And three weeks ago, the council's executive committee voted to accept the developer's offer of an undisclosed sum for the properties.

But after the challenge from the Democratic group, the decision has been called in to the full council, where it will be debated on Tuesday, May 10.

The properties are next to Malvern Splash and backing on to Priory Park. They have most recently been used as offices, but are now vacant.

Cllr Julian Roskams, the group leader, said: "There is a serious lack of affordable housing in Malvern, so this is a fantastic opportunity for council to work, perhaps with a local developer, in creating accommodation, for sale and for rent, that is truly within the price range of younger people, allowing them to live and work right in the heart of our town.

"These properties, which are a substantial and valuable council asset, and for which two independent valuations had been obtained by the council, had not been advertised on the open market. Instead, they were being sold after a bid had been received from a single prospective purchaser, a bid that fell almost exactly between the council’s two valuations.

"The group believes the council has failed to demonstrate the case for a sale. Even if it had done so, by failing to market the properties properly it was neither acting transparently nor fairly in relation to other potentially interested parties. It was potentially failing to achieve best value in the sale, and was at risk of acting to the detriment of the council and its residents."

Ian Marshall, the council's monitoring officer, said: "I agreed to the call-in request solely on the basis that the decision appears to give rise to a significant financial issue relating to the valuation of the property."