Property Report 2014

West Suffolk House, property shared with St Edmundsbury BC, and others.

At Thursday’s full Council meeting it fell to me to present the Suffolk County Council Annual Property Report for 2014.

The County Council owns and manages almost 1000 properties across the county.  Many are operational facilities such as schools and fire stations.  There are also offices such as Endeavour House and West Suffolk House which increasingly we try to share with other bodies to make best use of the space.

The Council has around 50 properties at present, some 5% of the total,  which are considered to be surplus to requirements.  A good deal of time is spent working out how best to dispose of these.  In contrast with a commercial property company, these disposals can often take time since the transactions are generally hedged about with legislative difficulty.  A redundant school cannot be sold off, for example, without the permission of the Secretary of State, and even if this is obtained, there is more red tape to unwind if we wish to sell the playing fields off too.

Although the Council is obliged to try to get the best price for its properties, in many cases we can also unlock some value for the local community, whether by way of a grant or land transfer.  We have to balance the needs of the community with those of the residents of Suffolk as a whole, and also make sure that the purpose for which the grant is made is both sustainable and in line with our strategic priorities.  Negotiating this sort of arrangement takes up a lot of officer time, and adds to the erroneous impression that we are sitting on a lot of empty property for no reason.

Then there is the 12,000 acre County Farm Estate.  This was originally acquired after the First World War to provide land for returning soldiers.  After the Second World War the holdings were increased by the transfer to the Farms of military airfields, such as the one here at Chilton.  Many people question the wisdom of continuing to hold the farms, but at present the (increasing) rental income offers a better return than we would achieve if the money were on deposit in the bank.  In addition there are a number of valuable sites on the edge of towns, such as Sudbury, which will ultimately be used for development, raising valuable capital receipts for Suffolk taxpayers.

If you are interested in reading more about the County Council’s property activities the full report for the current year can be found here.

You need to click on Agenda item 8 .