FORGE Mill Cottage and tearooms are to be sold off as part of Redditch Council's three-year cost-cutting project, Focus on the Future.

The cottage is currently being used as council offices and will be sold off as a house, despite not having planning permission for the change of use when it goes up for auction in about three weeks' time.

But Councillor David Cartwright, policy and resources committee chairman, said the auction was just three days before the council planning meeting.

He said: "The house will be sold subject to the use being changed from offices to a house at the following planning meeting.

"If the change of use does not go ahead, then the sale will not go any further."

Mr Cartwright added: "The reason we had to have the auction before the planning meeting was because we would not have been able to have another auction until at least the spring, so it would have been stupid to wait.

"The house will be empty all over the winter, getting cold and damp."

The proposal to sell the cottage in order to generate money has been on the cards for a long time and during a full council meeting behind closed doors, councillors agreed to sell off the Forge Mill tearooms as well.

Mr Cartwright said: "We will provide some more tea rooms inside Forge Mill Museum itself."