Slough Borough Council to sell off £600m of housing sites

A bankrupt council could sell off three major-housing sites to fill its financial black hole.

Slough Borough Council was forced to declare bankruptcy last year, with £760m of borrowed debt.

The local authority needs to sell up to £600m-worth of its properties and land to reduce its borrowing levels.

In another bid to raise cash, senior councillors are considering charging residents £50 for the currently free garden waste collection.

The new annual fee could provide Slough Borough Council a "significant" income of up to £900,000, but officers warned "this is not guaranteed", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The council said the charges were in line with other Berkshire local authorities and stated the move could encourage more home composting.

The ailing council also needs to make £20m of savings a year until 2029 to reduce its debt, said LDRS

The council's out-of-borough assets, such as the Odeon Cinema in Basingstoke, are already set to be sold and selling its headquarters Observatory House is under consideration.

Now three new sites that are earmarked for hundreds of homes could be auctioned off.

They include the former Thames Valley University site, also known as the North West Quadrant, that has been earmarked for 1,300 homes and 45,000sqm of commercial space.

The 212-home site on Montem Lane, and the 312-home site at the end of the Grand Union Canal - known as Stoke Wharf - could also be put up for sale by the struggling authority.

The new homes schemes are a part of the joint venture between the council and regeneration company Muse, which aimed to transform Slough by creating new homes, "iconic buildings", open spaces, and leisure facilities.

In order for the projects to continue, senior councillors were recommended to back off from the schemes and sell their shares to another purchaser for the projects to go ahead as planned, said LDRS.

The council was placed under government supervision last year after two reports revealed a catalogue of failings that included rising debts.