County Hall May Be Sold to Address Council’s Funding Shortfall
Worcestershire County Council faces a £33.6 million funding gap, prompting discussions about selling County Hall to secure financial support.
Worcestershire, County Hall, Funding Gap, Bankruptcy, Simon Geraghty
Worcestershire: The council is in a tough spot, facing a massive £33.6 million funding gap next year. If they don’t get some serious help from the government, they might have to declare bankruptcy. Yikes!
To avoid that, they’re looking for a capitalisation direction, which basically means they want permission to sell off some assets or borrow money to cover the gap.
At a recent cabinet meeting, council leader Simon Geraghty mentioned that their chief financial officer had already reached out to the Ministry of Health, Communities and Local Government for that much-needed support.
Geraghty stressed that this wasn’t a decision made lightly. He said, “The pressures are unrelenting. Our income is growing but is not keeping pace with demand.”
They’ve already started a £37 million savings program this year and are on track to hit at least 75% of that target. But he warned that more cuts and selling off some properties might be on the horizon.
“This is not a long-term solution,” he admitted. “It buys us time.”
County Hall has been shut down since June due to legionella bacteria found in the building. Parts of it have been off-limits since September when they discovered some dodgy concrete on site.
Recently, the council has been checking if they can safely return to County Hall. But Geraghty said fixing it up would cost way more than the £1.5 million they had budgeted, so they’re not going to do it.
He called the building “surplus to requirements” and said it’s time to decide what to do with it. After all, it’s a big building, and the folks in Worcestershire expect them to handle it properly.
A report on County Hall is expected to be discussed at the next cabinet meeting in February.