Investment creating jobs and council cash

Report shows authority’s efforts

MUCH-NEEDED money for council services and hundreds of new jobs are being generated by property investment in Leicestershire, claims a new report.

Figures published last week show that Leicestershire County Council generated £2.7m in the last 12 months, which is set to rise to £10m a year by 2022.

The extra cash is being ploughed into fixing and preventing potholes, and other front line services, reducing the impact of national funding reductions.

Deputy council leader, Coun Byron Rhodes, said: “By bringing new life to old commercial sites – and building new workspaces we’re making it attractive for companies to set up shop in Leicestershire, creating hundreds of jobs and investment.

“Every investment opportunity is rigorously assessed and it’s good news that our portfolio is performing better than the industry average.

“Crucially, it means we can invest extra money into vital front line services. We’re injecting £5m into tackling potholes over the next two years, bringing down the inconvenience to people who use our roads, and are exploring how we can bolster social care services, supporting vulnerable people.”

Land and units are bought using one-off pots of capital money.

The council’s property portfolio now totals £100m and is set to grow to £260m by 2022. The report shows it is generating just under 12 per cent return on investment, above the industry benchmark.

It includes a new 100,000 sq ft building at Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park, creating a new HQ for tech firm The Access Group. Announced last month by the Secretary of State for Communities, it will create 500 jobs and £1.6m a year for the council.

And plans to build a 62-acre solar farm in Quorn, producing clean, green energy, are being developed.

The Corporate Asset Investment Fund annual report and four-year strategy was examined by the council’s Scrutiny Commission on September 12 and Cabinet on September 14.