Concern council will sell assets 'on the cheap'

A councillor is concerned a city council could "sell off the family silver" as part of a recovery plan to avoid becoming bankrupt.

Gloucester City Council (GCC) chiefs are expected to ask the government for a bailout loan of between £12.5 and £17.5m this week.

If approved, the loan would be used to cover the £7.8m overspend discovered over the last and current financial years and stabilise the authority's financial situation.

GCC owns shopping centres, car parks, and community centres and, after concerns from group leaders regarding the sale of assets, Jeremy Hilton the authority's leader, said the council will "definitely not be selling off properties on the cheap".

GCC's revised budget for last year shows it was facing an estimated overspend of £4.3m for 2024/25, and figures for its current budget are predicting an overspend of £2.5m for the rest of 2025/26.

If the council is granted the exceptional financial support package, its plan is to pay off the debt by by selling off some sites, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

The council's commercial property portfolio, which includes St Oswalds Retail Park and Eastgate Shopping Centre, which it owns, and Kings Walk, which it leases, is expected to make £1.78m less than expected this year.

The cemeteries and crematorium service is also expected to make just under £500,000 less and car parking revenue is also £44,000 down on what GCC expected for the current financial year.

Community Independents group leader Alastair Chambers said he is concerned it is a "panic which could lead to selling off the family silver for bargain prices".

"After hiking parking charges, charging more for bins, scrapping bulky waste support, cutting staff, closing Blackfriars, cancelling weddings and slashing services, they now want to sell off public buildings and assets in a fire sale," he said.

But Mr Hilton said GCC will "dispose of assets only if they achieve top market value or above".

"Some of our commercial properties are highly successful and generate vital income for services for residents, and we'll retain all those," he said.

"For the less successful ones, we'll consider options carefully – but only at the right price."

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