Birmingham council sold George Dixon Primary School by mistake in 2013 house sale

Mixed · 2Birmingham City Council sold a three-bedroom house at auction in 2013 for £395,000 to NH Care Ltd, a care provider run by Sukhjit Bains, and the sale also transferred ownership of George Dixon Primary School. 1 2 Mixed · 2The mistake is thought to have arisen because the house, a former caretaker's cottage backing onto the school grounds, and the school share one land registry number; a TR1 form, which transfers everything registered under a number, was used instead of a TP1, which transfers only part of a parcel. 1 2 Mixed · 2Both outlets say Mr Bains's solicitor sent the wrong type of paperwork and the council's conveyancer signed it without noticing the error. 1 2

Mixed · 2The error was discovered on 12 April 2024, when the school was looking at becoming an academy and learned it did not own its building. 1 2 Mixed · 2Mr Bains and NH Care's two other directors are not thought to have known until the council contacted them last year to ask for the school back. 1 2 Mixed · 2According to the council, Mr Bains initially agreed to return the school but then stopped replying and declined to sign papers; it says it could not reach him by phone or letter or find him at his office despite repeated visits. 1 2

Mixed · 2When Daily Mail reporters approached him this week, he opened his door but declined to comment. 1 2 Mixed · 2The council has issued proceedings at the High Court in London against NH Care and Mr Bains's lender, Lloyds Bank, seeking the school's return; it also said neither the school nor its playing fields could be sold without the Secretary of State's consent. 1 2 Mixed · 2The Daily Mail reported that, in theory, Mr Bains could evict teachers and pupils, sell the site for millions or demolish the school; Metro repeated this, attributing it to the Mail. A solicitor for Mr Bains pointed out that the 2013 transfer was to NH Care Ltd, not to him personally. 1 2

Mixed · 2Parents of the school's 324 pupils are believed to be unaware of the mix-up. 1 2 Mixed · 2The house has reportedly stayed empty and is boarded up; the Daily Mail quoted a neighbour saying it had attracted antisocial behaviour. 1 2 Mixed · 2A council spokesperson said it is pursuing the appropriate legal process to rectify the position and that it would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings are ongoing. 1 2

Right · 1The Daily Mail added background not in Metro: the council went bankrupt in 2023 and was run by Labour for 16 years until a coalition took control this year, a 2021 Care Quality Commission finding of abuse at an NH Care home, and a February Ofsted report noting 324 pupils against a capacity of 300. 1