Leicestershire council to sell off £28m worth of assets

Leicestershire's County Hall will also see changes to make thousands of pounds in energy savings

A local authority has approved "ambitious" plans to sell off £28m worth of its properties and land to help raise funds.

Some of Leicestershire County Council's assets, which total around £360m, will be sold over the next four years.

Last year, all the authority's care homes and Quorn Hall, which had been used as an outdoor education centre, were sold for almost £7m.

Bosses said the plans were "ambitious and challenging" but deliverable.

The council's Corporate Asset Management Plan aims to help make savings of £82m by 2019 and to make energy savings by improving buildings.

'Proceeds re-invested'

Liz Carter, strategic property manager, said: "It is a very ambitious list [of assets]. It is very challenging but I'm putting it forward because I believe we can deliver it."

Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for property, said the plan showed how land and buildings could be used "more effectively to generate capital receipts, save money and provide better facilities".

He said other proposals included:

• Making £400,000 of annual energy savings by installing solar panels and a bio-mass boiler at County Hall

• More flexible working and better use of space, to enable more offices at County Hall to be rented out to other organisations

• £56 million investment in new schools and school extensions

Leader of the opposition Labour group, Robert Sharp, said there was a risk of assets being sold below their market rate and those of real value to the community being sold.

"We will scrutinise all such proposals to check that residents are not being short changed," he said.

The council said all proceeds would be re-invested in the council's capital programme which pays for items such as roads and buildings.