A former mortuary is among disused public sector buildings being offered for sale or rent on a new UK Government property search website. The £50,000 (€58,715) Find Me Some Government Space initiative is designed to shift redundant venues and is modelled on popular commercial sites used by homebuyers.

A magistrates’ court, ambulance station, fire control centre and two observatories are among 1,200 sites across Britain.

Since the 2010 general election, £640 million (€751m) has been raised by selling more than 250 surplus buildings, ministers say.

But it emerged this month that others have been empty for more than a decade, costing the taxpayer huge sums.

Among rental opportunities is the Bidston observatory in Merseyside, complete with its distinctive twin domes, while another at Lerwick on the Shetland Islands offering “spectacular views” is for sale.

Wakefield’s former fire control centre would make a good “disaster recovery and training facility”, the website says – though it could also just be used as offices.

The mortuary in Folkestone is on land being sold off as a housing development opportunity.

The prospectus declares the site to be a “former Victorian hospital including a disused mortuary, chapel and hall and tennis court with associated land”.

www.gov.uk/find-government-property