ABINGDON landmark the Old Gaol is expected to earn Vale of White Horse District Council about £4m, the Oxford Mail has discovered.

Last week, it was announced the Vale received a £2m downpayment for selling the site to Cranbourne Homes with more cash expected on top from the sale of 61 units.

Now the council has revealed it is expecting that second figure to be worth another £2m because overall it will get 20 per cent of the site, which is currently valued at £20m.

Local firm Cranbourne Homes is building the flats, plus four restaurants and an underground car park at the site in a £25m scheme.

Council strategic director Matt Prosser said Cranbourne Homes was the only bidder to offer the council anything for the site.

He said one bidder offered nothing, and the other two wanted the council to pay them.

He also said Cranbourne was the only one to offer a mixed scheme – the others only included hotels and restaurants.

Council leader Tony de Vere said: “It has been a long haul and we have had to be very cautious about what and when we announce.

“But any fears that people have that we had not negotiated a good deal on behalf of the residents in the Vale should now be put to rest.”

He said it would not have been acceptable for the council to put any money into the site.

He added: “For one we could not afford it and people would have felt very aggrieved.”

The council handed Cranbourne Homes the freehold on Tuesday and work can now begin.

Leader of the opposition Matthew Barber said he was glad the details of the deal had been released.

But he added: “It does not necessarily mean they negotiated the deal the best they could and got the most out of it.”