£93 Million of land and property sold by Kent Councils
Our 12 District Councils and Kent County Council have sold £93 million pounds worth of land or property during the period 2014 – 2018. The number of properties pieces of land sold totals 304 according to data compiled by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Some of the land sold by the 13 councils are council owned grass areas in front of their own homes. Some residents have taken up the opportunity, others believe it’s just another ruse to “reduce costs “on maintenance of the areas.
Local authorities in Kent & the UK have been and continue to be under unprecedented financial strain due to cuts in government funding and rising demand for services.
In 2016, the government gave councils in England new powers to sell community spaces such as libraries, playing fields and day care centres to help balance their books. Thousands of them have been sold since, with little public awareness or scrutiny.
Previously, money made from selling public assets could only be used to fund the cost of buying new ones.
In April 2016, the then Chancellor George Osborne relaxed the rules to allow local authorities to spend the proceeds on cost-cutting measures, such as sharing back-office functions with other authorities, investing in new technology or other reforms which have upfront costs but reduce spending in the long-term.
Selling public buildings and spaces is a false economy that leaves our communities poorer, we believe.
For the map of what and where Councils sold click on the Council’s name
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Kent County Council
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Ashford
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Canterbury
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Dartford
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Dover
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Folkestone & Hythe
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Gravesham
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Maidstone
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Sevenoaks
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Swale
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Thanet
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Tonbridge & Malling
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Tunbridge Wells
The question is who did they sell the land to? Any of their chums on the cheap? That ought to be the next investigation.
Canterbury CC has sold 17 properties, the majority of which were toilets (4) and small plots of land (6). The other properties included a boat park, store room, stables and a beach hut site.
The most significant items included the Marlowe Theatre, now operating as a charity, and a part of Thannington Recreation Grounds (which was transferred presumably to Highways England for the purposes of the new A2 on-slip road).
Overall, I think most residents have barely noticed any difference. Would be interesting to know what the funds raised has been used for.