£54m raised by NHS Lothian from land and property sales

Published on Wednesday 21 January 2009 08:44

NHS Lothian has pocketed more than £50 million through land sales in the last four years, figures have shown.

A document, released under the Freedom of Information Act, states that 54m has been raised since 2004.

The bulk of that was raised from the sale of the old Edinburgh Royal Infirmary site at Lauriston for 33m to Southside Capital Ltd.

Other big sales include land at Chalmers Street, near the old ERI site, for 8.5m in May this year, the 2m transfer of a stand-alone mansion on Colinton Road to a private buyer and the 1.7m sale of buildings on Grange Loan.

The coffers at the health board can expect to be further swollen when planned sales of other buildings in prime locations go ahead.

Once the Sick Kids Hospital has moved out to the ERI a huge listed property will become available in Sciennes. The Royal Victoria's move to the Western General site will also leave a valuable property on health chiefs' hands.

The Royal Edinburgh in Morningside, which takes up a massive patch of land in one the city's most expensive zones, also provides a huge asset for the health board.