Council sells assets worth £28m in four years

A council has sold over £28m worth of assets since it was set up in 2020, new data has revealed.

Buckinghamshire Council provided data under freedom of information laws and explained most of its disposals were used for affordable housing or education initiatives.

The assets include the sale of High Wycombe property for £2m for Buckinghamshire College Group's new campus and a £2.1m deal for the town's former derelict and contaminated Bassetsbury Lane allotments to turn it into a mobile homes site.

It comes after the council said it was "running out of assets", even though it is considering selling off more land and property including centres for disabled adults.

John Chilver, cabinet member for accessible housing and resources, said the council was "no different" from others, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He argued "huge factors" influenced decisions and "what might have been the right thing to do 10, 20 years ago might not necessarily be the right thing in today's world".

However not all disposals are sales, with some community asset transfers having been made and the disposals are only a fraction of the council's net assets, which were worth over £2bn as of April 2024 - although its accounts are still being audited and this figure may change.

Stuart Wilson, who leads the Independents, welcomed the "opportunities to get affordable housing built".

However he feared there could be regrets later and said consideration was needed for future demands.

He highlighted historic closures of children's homes in the county, while noting the council was buying and converting homes to bring services "back in-house to save money".

Chilver argued provider costs and demand have "dramatically escalated in recent years" and decisions were made on a "fully informed and case-by case basis".

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