Somerset Council should be offloading every square foot of unwanted office space to help tackle its financial crisis, MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has suggested.
He says the amalgamation of five district councils into a unitary authority had created a legacy of unused or under-used properties and ways should be sought of turning them into revenue.
He said creating a library and a children’s centre in the former West Somerset Council offices in Williton was an imaginative step which would release other properties for disposal.
“But in the present circumstances no chance should be missed to make better use of existing buildings or to dispose of surplus ones,” he said.
The council has signalled a major cash crisis which could tip it into bankruptcy next year. As many as 1,000 staff are likely to be made redundant. Officials are already contemplating selling off part of County Hall in Taunton for housing.
But, said Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, the authority needed to be ruthless in its appraisal of its property assets.
“One thing is certain: it no longer needs all the office space it inherited from the five district authorities, some of which were remarkably adept at empire-building,” he said.
“Given the scale of the council’s financial predicament it should be working from the bottom up and calculating the bare minimum of space needed for it to function and deliver services.
“Apart from anything else when people’s council tax bills are going up so dramatically they are unlikely to be impressed by the sight of council buildings standing empty or under-utilised.
“The pandemic showed that hundreds of council staff are perfectly capable of working remotely, with a commensurate reduction in the need for office space, and I would urge the council to continue encouraging home-working wherever possible.”
