Debt-ridden Slough Borough Council 'very close' to selling assets

The council initially faced a £760m borrowing debt which has now been reduced to £680m

A council in financial crisis is "very close" to selling the first of its assets as part of a plan to keep the authority afloat.

The government appointed commissioners to address Labour-run Slough Borough Council's money problems last year.

A proposal to sell up to £600m of its assets was outlined, but earlier this month the commissioners cast doubt on the plan's timescale.

However, they have now said they will be able to begin the sales soon.

The council has been constrained since issuing a section 114 notice, which is considered the local authority equivalent of bankruptcy and means it could only spend on services deemed essential.

The Odeon in Basingstoke is one of a number of out-of-borough properties owned by the council

It is not yet known which properties will be part of the first wave of sales but four out-of borough assets, such as the Odeon Cinema in Basingstoke, Hampshire, were expected to be among the earliest to go.

Lead commissioner Max Caller told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We have been actively marketing a number of properties, particularly the out-of-borough properties.

"Some of them are attracting quite a lot of interest. Not all of them are resulting in bids, but that's the property market as it stands at the moment.

"We anticipate the first few properties coming through will do better than the valuation and we're very close to being able to report to members on the first asset sales."

Any asset sales above £1m will have to be signed off by cabinet members.

In a report published earlier this month, the commissioners overseeing Slough Borough Council's recovery said the authority may need to raise council tax by up to 20% in the next three years.