Councils have sold-off £15 billion in assets since 2010, research reveals
Around £15 billion worth of council assets have been sold off since 2010, new research from a public policy think tank has revealed.
The report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and IPPR North, titled Parallel lives: Regionally rebalancing wealth, power and opportunity, stated that more than 6,000 council assets worth around £1.3 billion have been sold annually over the last 13 years.
The report also noted that a further 2,500 council-owned buildings and assets are "already at risk" in the next five years.
By comparison, the research estimates that a total of just 2,500 assets have come into community ownership since 2010.
The report follows the news that Birmingham City Council had issued a section 114 notice in the face of massive debts. Birmingham was the fifth council to declare effective bankruptcy since 2021, and reports suggest more are to come.
The IPPR report makes a series of recommendations, including a call for the Government to implement a new funding formula for major public sector investment projects.
The Government has made early attempts to adjust the Green Book – an evaluation tool used to allocate government investment – to propose investment should be regionally rebalanced; but more substantive change is needed to make regional rebalancing a prerequisite for public investment, the report noted.
It recommended a new formula that would determine allocations to cities and regions in England by taking into account need and historic levels of investment and providing certainty for places in the medium term.
The IPPR report also called for the introduction of the principle of 'common good property', which is a duty that is already in use in Scotland.
Under this duty, Scottish local authorities must be transparent about the existence of publicly-held assets and involve the community in decisions regarding them, including how they are used and disposed of.
Alongside this, the report recommended that one per cent of local funding be allocated to 'participatory budgeting' "so that citizens can get directly involved in the decisions made about their area".
Elsewhere, the report recommended planning reforms that would introduce a local planning rule to ensure no new home is further than 300 metres from accessible green space, as previously proposed by IPPR's Environmental Justice Commission in 2021.
Zoë Billingham, Director of IPPR North and report co-author, said:" Communities have lost billions worth of public land and buildings in their areas, local safety nets are crumbling all whilst government plays fast and loose with major regional infrastructure projects.
"People want and deserve better than this. They want functioning public services, to receive a fair share of investment and to restore pride in their places. Regional rebalancing must be reprioritised by central government and through support of regional leaders who continue to champion the agenda locally.
"It's time to rewire the status quo so that wealth, power and opportunity can be accessed and shared by everyone, in the places they live."
Adam Carey
