Somerset Council pledges greater transparency over asset sales

By Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Mumby

Somerset Council has pledged to be more transparent with the public over future sales of land, property and other public assets.

Since its creation in April 2023, the council has been selling off surplus land and property, including the commercial investments it inherited from the former district councils.

The government has allowed the council to use the proceeds to be used to fund front-line services (something which is not normally permitted) – with the understanding that this facility will not be available after April 2027.

The council revealed in late-June that it had lost nearly £92m on the sale of investments to date, based on their original values – though it did generate a surplus of just over £17m when rental income was taken into account.

The Conservative opposition group put forward a motion calling for greater transparency on the reporting surrounding these investments, which was debated by the full council in Bridgwater on 16th September.

The ruling Liberal Democrat administration has now agreed to greater transparency going forward, with a report to be published before Christmas detailing every commercial property which has already been sold off.

Following the full council vote, the motion was discussed in detail by the council’s properties and investments executive sub-committee when it met in Taunton on 30th September.

Jenny Caprio, the council’s lead of legal services, said the council would still have to withhold some information which was deemed to be commercially sensitive, but would endeavour to provide as much detail to the public as possible.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for adults’ services, housing and homelessness, said that the dry figures did not tell the whole story of why these assets were acquired and then being sold.

She said, “The properties were bought for yield, not for capital growth.

“They were not bought in order to make money for the council when they were sold – that was not the reason, and it still isn’t the reason.

“It’s a bonus if that’s happened, and in some cases it has, and that’s really good to know about.

“At the time the interest rate was very low, and so it was attractive to buy a property for a capital sum and get the yield to add to the amount that you can spend on what your council does.

“We all know that the market has dropped and it’s become very much quieter for commercial property.

“I don’t think giving simple ‘bought’ and ‘sold’ figures is enough. It doesn’t tell the right story and it doesn’t add context.”

The report is expected to be published before the sub-committee’s next meeting on 9th December – with further reports to follow once every three months.