Council to sell Market Harborough's Settling Rooms

These are the Settling Rooms in Market Harborough. They stand in the car park that marks the site of the town's cattle market and were once the offices where purchases made at the market were paid for.

The Harborough Mail reports that they are to be put up for sale by Harborough District Council.

Its story quotes understandable concerns:

For the Liberal Democrats, Cllr Dr Sarah Hill said she was concerned about the existing tenants at The Settling Rooms - Voluntary Action South Leicestershire (VASL) and Shopmobility. 

"Both offer important services to the community - where will they go?" she asked.

But there may be a deeper concern about this move.

I was on the council when the cattle market site was redeveloped. We decided to keep the Settling Rooms as a sort of ransom strip to ensure that we could any future development of the site.

Without them, will the council and, through it, the people of the town have enough say when a second redevelopment is proposed?