Council to continue selling assets to clear debt

A local authority with debts of £2bn has approved the continued selling off of "significant" assets to reduce its financial blackhole.

Woking Borough Council (WBC), which went bust in June 2023, has already increased council tax and cut services in an attempt to make itself more sustainable.

On Wednesday, its executive approved further sales, such as the town's gateway Triangle site and its Goldsworth Park Shopping Centre, as well as "a number of commercial and industrial holdings".

Dale Roberts, deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance and economy, said: "The approved sales will generate much-needed income that will be used to reduce our overall debt burden."

However, he added that this was about "more than just financial recovery".

"These sales create opportunities for investment and economic growth, whilst ensuring that the council is in the strongest possible position ahead of the creation of West Surrey Council in April next year," he added.

WBC will be replaced by the new West Surrey Council in April, following the dissolution of Surrey County Council and its 11 boroughs and districts as part of local government reorganisation.

The new council was forecast to start life £4bn in the red, largely due to WBC's shortfall.

Earlier this month, the government officially began reducing the authority's debt pile with the settlement of an £8m loan, with a further £492m of loans expected to be repaid by the end of March 2027.

To date, WBC has completed or exchanged asset sales totalling £72m, with a further £54m currently under offer.

Those completed so far include office buildings, such as Albion House on the High Street, residential properties, and land and leisure assets like the Walton Road depot and The Anchor pub in Knaphill.

A number of flagship regeneration projects have also been sold to private investors.

"These significant decisions demonstrate the continued progress we are making with our improvement and recovery plan, and our continued commitment to addressing the council's financial challenges," said Roberts.

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