AN hour's online bidding this afternoon (Wednesday, 9 September) boosted Thurrock Council's coffers by more than £800,000 as Grays' former Post Office was sold off to try and ease the borough's debt mountain.

However, the money raised isn't likely to stay in the council's clutches for long.

The sale which actually realised less than one week's interest on Thurrock's debt – that hovers around the billion pound mark - was carried out by Lambert Smith Hampton auctioneers and the winning bid, after 170 offers, was £865,000, from which the council will have to pay marketing and auctioneer fees.

The bidding started around the guide price of £560,000 and quickly soared.

The building, on George Street, was acquired by Thurrock Thames Gateway Corporation from the Post Office and turned into the Thurrock Centre for Business, offering office space for rent. It opened to a fanfare of applause from civic dignitaries in 2010, but was not the success anticipated and has had a number of occupants and uses since.

The purpose-built post office was built around 1930 and served the town until the Post Office closed it and moved the service to the WH Smith store in Grays Shopping Mall. That closed a few years later and has since shifted locations in the town centre. Currently it's housed on Clarence Road.

NWES Property Services Limited currently has a lease on the George Street property that runs until July next year. They rent out office space at prices ranging from £867 to £1,380 per unit.

The George Street Post Office in its hey day

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The sale of the building is one of a number recently authorised by the council as it seeks to bring down its massive debt that resulted from the failed borrow to invest scheme that put the authority in effective bankruptcy and led to government intervention.

Currently the council's annual budget has an allocation of around £78 million just to pay off interest on its massive debt, meaning more than a million a week is being spent to effectively 'stand still'. It's likely that what the council accrues from the sale of the George Street property will immediately be set against the capital debt as the council works to bring down interest it has to pay.

Other properties on the market include:

Riverside Business Centre, Fort Road, Tilbury, RM18 7ND - Office Investment

Land at Thurrock Park Way, Tilbury, RM18 7HG

Land at Purfleet Industrial Park, Purfleet, RM15 4YF