Councils to redevelop 13.5bn of assets
Author: Emily Twinch, Inside Housing |
Councils in England plan to redevelop 13.5bn of their assets over the next five years which should help to create more housing, a thinktank report has found.
Localis has produced a study today that also suggests a local authority ‘hit squad’ should be set up to ensure that councils maximise the returns on their assets.
This could mean a 5% increase on the 13.5bn assets producing almost 700m of extra revenue, the report produced with regeneration developer Cathedral, suggests.
The 13.5bn estimate – which councils say they will do – was found through a survey of 55 local authority leaders and senior offices. A survey was sent to 353 English councils.
Central and local government should also produce an annual register of assets that is made public, the report Public Land, Public Good – which housing minister Brandon Lewis launches today ? argues.
Localis envisages a ‘good proportion’ but not all of the 13.5bn should be used for housing. The money should also be used for reshaping public services and boosting local economies, says the thinktank.
Alex Thomson, chief executive of Localis, said: ‘It’s vital that we get maximum use out of public assets ? not just now, but for the long-term benefit of local communities.
‘Our research concludes that local government is ideally placed to catalyse the development of public sector land and assets in their area.’
Councils were not just there to do the job of developers but had a ‘core responsibility to use their public land holdings and powers to encourage development and drive long-term growth’, he added.
The report found councils were reacting to austerity by ‘acting like property developers’ and not just selling off buildings and land for one-off capital receipts.