Hammersmith & Fulham to make £20m property disposals, puts assets register online

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham is considering selling nine buildings and discontinuing the leases of three other properties in a drive to reduce its £133m debt.

The council has also become the first local authority to put its full property register online “in the interests of transparency”.

The nine buildings potentially up for sale, which include Fulham Town Hall, are viewed as underused or representing poor value for money.

Hammersmith & Fulham hopes to raise £20m through the disposals, and believes that £2.5m a year will be freed up for frontline services. The council is aiming to save £55m from its budget over the next three years.

The disposals will be the first wave of a rolling programme, with further disposals to be announced later this year. Consultations on the sales are being held over the summer.

Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, leader of Hammersmith & Fulham, said the sales were part of the tough decisions it was having to make.

He said: “All the indications are that we will have to reduce our spending by around £55m over the next three years. We have stated very publicly that our focus will be on selling our assets to protect services. We have to put people before buildings and safeguard as much of our budget as possible for voluntary sector grants, child protection and services for the elderly.”