24 February 2023
Conservative-run BCP Council is rushing to complete by March an emergency sell-off of local taxpayer-owned assets. This includes land for new housing at Crescent Road in Bournemouth, Wessex Trade Centre and 35 Willis Way in Poole, plus Airfield Industrial Estate in Christchurch.
The council is still trying to fix a £20m black hole in next year’s budget.
BCP’s leadership no longer wants to take a £76m emergency Government bailout loan. This loan would come with extra Government scrutiny of the Council’s finances - which ruling local Conservative councillors apparently don’t want. BCP’s decision-making and spending were repeatedly featured in 2022 in national satirical magazine Private Eye.
Green Councillor Chris Rigby said: “We’ve seen poor financial management, and investment in vanity projects such as the attempts to buy Barclays House and a disastrous Freeport bid. This has left BCP’s Conservative administration in a position where they're forced to sell profitable assets, rather than accept the increased scrutiny from accepting a Government loan.”
