Council in £3m asset sale to plug cash hole
GoogleA council said it expected to make more than £3m from selling off properties, including a community centre, to balance its books.
Labour-led Stockton Council said it has either sold or is in the process of selling 15 properties in an attempt to bridge a £6.7m budget gap over the next few years.
The authority's cabinet was told at a meeting this was part of a "strategic asset management plan" which would avoid "fire sale scenarios" encountered by other councils in financial hardship.
Deputy leader Paul Rowling said: "I think this proactive approach is absolutely the right way to go about it, ensuring that we have the assets that we need, but the ones we don't need any longer we can dispose of."
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, properties listed by the authority as sold subject to contract include the South Thornaby Community Centre on Havilland Road, shops and a kiosk in Port Clarence, Cowpen Hall on Hereford Terrace in Billingham and other properties and land in Stockton, Billingham and Norton.
Rowling said other councils across the country had looked at their assets as they got into financial difficulty, meaning they found themselves selling quickly and not always achieving the income expected.
He said: "We need to make sure we're spending every penny as wisely as we can."
