£11m land clear-out by Swansea Council branded a fire sale
SWANSEA Council is planning to make around £11 million by selling off land and buildings over the next year.
The council has identified what assets it hopes to sell off in the next 12 months as part of its budget.
Capital receipts — money the authority will earn from selling off land and property — are expected to raise £11.1 million.
The council has sold of £68 million worth of assets in the past six years.
A list given to the Post has revealed the land the council hopes to dispose of in the next 12 months.
It includes the Asda site in Gorseinon, which is expected to be the most valuable sale, and St Thomas Community Centre.
However, until sales are completed, the council says financial details are commercially sensitive.
The authority's policy of asset disposal has been criticised by opposition leader David Phillips, who described it as a fire sale.
Following a question from Labour councillors, the council revealed that, since 2004, the value of the assets the authority has disposed of amounts to £68,332,897.
Labour group leader Councillor Phillips said he was concerned about the rationale behind selling off assets.
Councillor Phillips said he feared the authority was looking for what it could sell rather than what it needed to sell.
He said: "The drive is not getting rid of the stuff that is surplus to requirements, it is about trying to find assets that we can sell. It is a fire sale. The drive is on identifying things that can be sold."
However, cabinet member for finance, Stuart Rice, denied these claims.
He said: "It is not a fire sale by any means.
"It is a considered approach. We look at what is available to sell and what can sell.
"It is selling what is surplus to requirements.
"Obviously, people want to see new and improved facilities in schools. Capital receipts will help that happen."
A council spokesman said: "Inevitably, exact information about these land sale or lease projects is commercially sensitive. However, the biggest single contribution is expected to be from the completion of the sale of land at the Asda site in Gorseinon."
The budget for 2010/11 has provided a great deal of controversy in recent months.
As the state of the city's finances revealed a £17 million blackhole, a range of cuts and savings were included in Swansea Council's budget.
They included a council tax hike, turning some street lights off, education cuts, which will see at least 100 teachers lose their jobs, and the closure of the Morfa-based tennis centre.
alex.brown@swwmedia.co.uk
7 Comments
by suzanne, Swansea
Saturday, March 13 2010, 12:48PM
“The Fib Dems have brought this city to it's knees. I'm not a supporter of any main stream political party and there are things the Swansea Labour lot did that were wrong.But you cannot equate the mis management of the leisure centre under Labour with what has happened to our Social Services under the Independents@Swansea and the Lib Dems.
I judge people on how they treat / veiw the most vunerable in our society. The individual who alledgedly believes that compulsory steralisation is a solution , an Independent @Swansea I believe, should never have been given a portfolio that needed someone who cares about and wants to help the most vunerable in our society. I will await the report thats due out about the deaths of more than one young person before I make anymore comment on this subject.”
by Poo-litical, Swansea
Friday, March 12 2010, 9:14PM
“Paul Lloyd, Bonymaen Labour Party
In case you are suffering from Amnesia, it was the last (and previous) Labour led Administration(s) that allowed the 'old' Leisure Centre's condition to detriate over many years and they even allowed this building to have Asbestos!
Remember, Paul, this Leisure Centre was in the top twenty of most visited buildings in the UK prior to closure! Then again Paul, as the Leisure Centre was one of the reasons why Labour lost control of Swansea in 2004, I can at least understand your anger! But, then as now, if Labour had actually cared amount the people of Swansea, this would have shown in Labour actions and Labour Policies and we would probably not have seen the last two Lib Dem led Administrations gain control!
It was your Labour pals in Westminster that created the Billions of Pounds of debt, the consequences of such folly means that our Public Services are not funded properly!
The Tories, however, will be bad for Wales if they get elected at the General Election, as they were from 1979 to 1997! The Tories decimated the Welsh Mining industry, now they have their eyes set on decimating the Public Sector in Wales!”
by Linda, Neath
Friday, March 12 2010, 7:40AM
“The Labour controlled council in Neath Port Talbot is handing over over 1 billion pounds of public property to the private sector - council houses - care homes - public lighting - their leisure facilities have long been given to a private company - shared out amongst themselves - so much for Labour and decency in Neath Port Talbot - Swansea has some way to go to catch up with this lot.”
by dave, Wales
Friday, March 12 2010, 12:51AM
“Paul Lloyd.
Typical labour nonsense. Blame the tories for everything instead of having any real, workable ideas. Haven't your union paymasters anything else to say? Or are you just reaching out to the hard of thinking? Bring back Maggie, Cameron is not right wing enough for me, but he may see sense.”
by Paul Lloyd, Bonymaen Labour Party
Thursday, March 11 2010, 9:56PM
“It cost £40 million to refurbish the Leisure Centre. Value for money for what amounts to a simple redecoration of a crumbling building that is so expensive to use that it's empty most days. And after spending (wasting) that £ 40 million, they handed it over to an arms length company to run it (shades of Thatcherism?). The Lib-Dem/ Independent Swansea Council are now debating total privatisation of the leisure centre. I never thought I'd see that in Swansea. That's how low we've sunk in Swansea. Lib-Dems & Independents in Swansea have shown that they're actually closet Tories .”
by Lyndon, Caerdydd
Thursday, March 11 2010, 9:03PM
“Perhaps they should have demolished the Leisure Centre and sold off the land, like your lot wanted to do, eh Paul?”
by Paul Lloyd, Bonymaen Labour Party
Thursday, March 11 2010, 8:43PM
“This Lib-Dem/ Independent run Swansea Council are going to sell anything that will raise money to fund the debt they've incurred through mismanaging this once great city of ours. Reminds me of Thatcher's government selling the family silver back in the 1980s. Cllr. Holley- don't forget you can only sell something once, what will you do when there's nothing left to sell?”