You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Housing stock under threat as Slough considers £600m asset sell-off
Slough Council is considering the future of its directly owned housing stock after commissioners laid bare the scale of the struggling authority’s financial woes.
Commissioners were sent into Slough Council last December to address serious financial and management failures at the request of the former housing secretary Michael Gove.
They describe the borough as one of high deprivation, with “associated poor-quality housing”.
Their report described the “unprecedented” scale of challenges facing Slough, including financial issues due to piling debt and poor accounting practices and governance issues that have decimated the council’s capability and capacity.
This means the local authority no longer has the means to deliver its own development plans, although it maintains that there will still be a “significant” supply of new affordable homes in the area.
Slough Council will require at least £670m in capitalisation support over the next few years, alongside £600m in asset disposals to help clear its debts.
READ MORE
The report stated: “This will involve disposal of land presently earmarked to provide housing for industrial and warehousing purposes as this delivers significantly greater land values.”
This is in addition to “a programme of housing stock transfer will also need to be put in place”.
James Swindlehurst, leader of Slough Council, said: “As part of its financial recovery plans, Slough Council has agreed an assets disposal programme over the coming three years of up to £600m, to significantly reduce the council’s debt/borrowing and to make provisions to cover off historic budget deficits via capital sales through its capitalisation direction from central government.”
He said the town will still see a number of major developments take place, including 1,200 new homes on a former Horlicks factory site.
Mr Swindlehurst added: “The council does not have the staff or financial capacity to lead development on all the many sites in its own control, so will be releasing the majority of them to the market – many still for housing but some for other sectors [that have a] strong demand such as employment, logistics, distribution.
“There will still be significant new residential supply in Slough, including affordable homes.”
He also confirmed that the council will be considering the future of its directly owned housing stock as part of the three-year recovery plan, but any future transfer options would have to be put before council members before a decision is made.
Sign up for our Council Focus newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
