Many councils in the UK are selling off assets worth hundreds of millions of pounds to offset short-term debts, including car parks, land for new homes, and museums. However, some councils are refusing to sell antiques and other valuables considered part of the town’s heritage as councilors of different political parties believe it would be disrespectful. Ipswich, a Conservative-run council, has sold its silverware, but Birmingham City Council, run by Labour, is still holding onto antiques despite several libraries being shut down.
Labour-run Southampton City Council is looking to sell assets worth £121.6m, including the city’s Tudor House and Gardens, art galleries, car parks, and offices. However, Southampton council is giving priority in sales to institutional purchasers who will keep the public properties in the public sector.
Several councils cited the need for commercial investments to help its finances. Birmingham City Council, struggling with the biggest asset disposal, is selling a motorsport-themed adventure park to Birmingham City Football Club and considering closing many of its 35 public libraries, while Portsmouth City Council invests millions in property assets. It gets a tidy income from £110m of property investments, including a Waitrose store in Somerset and DHL warehouse near Birmingham. Portsmouth council is proposing to make further commercial purchases and perhaps sell properties whose revenue has fallen away.
The government grants exceptional permission for six councils, known as “the exceptional six,” to break rules set by the government to generate short-term cash flow. However, Zoe Billingham, director of the IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) North, says that central government is leaving local government with no choice but to sell public assets. She says this mass sell-off results in an irreversible loss to the public realm. She believes the government should provide funding proportional to demand and rising costs.
In total, since 2010, approximately 75,000 public assets worth about £15bn have been sold by English councils. The councils argue that it is understandable to sell off assets when they face financial hardship, while critics are calling on the government to provide more funding instead of leaving the councils with no choice but to sell assets
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