£108m raised by North councils selling off public

RESEARCH SHOWS LOCAL AUTHORITIES HAVE SOLD 839 AREAS IN PAST

NORTH East councils raised more than £108m by flogging public spaces in the last five years, new research has uncovered.

A major collaborative investigation published by the Huffington Post lays bare the extent of the local government funding crisis.

North East councils have sold 839 public spaces since 2013, and the true figure on sales is likely to be even higher.

Newcastle City Council only provided data from 2014 to 2015, which listed the authority raising more than £16.7m through the sale of 165 spaces.

Gateshead Council provided a “partial” response by not listing the sale prices for each of their 55 public spaces.

The investigation also did not publish a response from North Tyneside Council due to “gaps or errors or delay” in the authority’s response.

Addressing the figures, TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive John O’Connell said: “It’s absolutely right that local councils look into alternative ways of raising money in order to keep the council tax bill down for local residents.

“In many cases, however, there are still unnecessary projects and initiatives that councils are spending money on which could be cut in order to improve essential services.”

The Huffington Post investigation named Sunderland City Council as one of 64 local authorities to use money made from property sales to subsidise service cuts and staff redundancies since April 2016.

Responding to the claim, councillor Paul Stewart, cabinet secretary for the council, said: “These rule changes overlapped with several years of council downsizing and staff reorganisation.

“Any suggestions that the availability of capital receipts has led to an increase in redundancies are not correct.

“The council has undertaken a significant reduction in headcount since 2010 because of Government funding cuts and unfunded spending pressures, and staffing reductions have not been influenced by the availability of capital receipts.

“Without a flexible capital receipts policy to help meet funding pressures, redundancy costs could have put more unneeded pressures on this council’s services.”

The most lucrative sale in the North East by far was for Sunderland City Council, with the authority raising £23.5m from the sale in November 2014.

Since 2013, the sale of 19 public spaces broke the million-pound barrier.

A number of community asset transfers – where authorities pass on the running of facilities or open spaces to community organisations for nominal fees – were also recorded.

What do the councils have to say? Durham County Council Newcastle City Council

Councillor Ged Bell, cabinet member for employment said: “The reality is that councils up and down the country have been forced to sell substantially more than they would like in order to protect residents from further cuts.

“In Newcastle, the council has faced unfair and disproportionate cuts, more than twice the national average.

“By 2020 we will have had to save over £300m due to government cuts and increased costs to deliver services.

“Having to choose between protecting the most vulnerable in our city or retaining assets for future use are the difficult and painful decisions we’re now having to make.

“With the sale of assets, we endeavour to create an opportunity to redevelop or reuse vacant buildings which greatly benefit the economy by bringing properties and land that lay dormant and in disrepair back into use.

“Our financial stewardship and property management are good, which has enabled us to cope with unprecedented reductions in government grant.”

Northumberland County Council

A council spokesperson said: “Northumberland County Council, like almost every other local authority, has a sub- Stuart Timmiss, head of development and housing at Durham County Council, said: “The number of assets sold in County Durham must be considered in the context of us being the largest local authority in the region, and the Localism Act 2011 which gives parish and town councils and other local groups the right to bid for community assets.

“Also, as a relatively new local authority, we have had a number of conversations with town and parish councils over who is best placed to manage open space when land is located next to each other.

“In recent years there have been occasions when we have transferred assets to community organisations for £1. This includes open space, recreation grounds and allotments, which have continued in their existing use but under parish management.

“Other examples include statutory transfers of land from schools to the local diocese.”