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Council sells six buildings in bid to find £31m savings

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City council staff located in any of the buildings will be relocated, the council has said

Bristol City Council is selling off six buildings as it seeks to find £31m in savings.

South Bristol Rehabilitation Centre and two family support centres are among the sites being sold off.

It came after the council's cabinet agreed the properties, which will be assessed for suitability for housing prior to sale, were no longer needed.

The council is hoping the sales will raise around £3m - which will go towards reducing its funding deficit.

Council staff based at four of them will be relocated while the remaining two are home to other organisations.

Deputy mayor Craig Cheney told a council cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 24 January there was "financial pressure on the council" and a "resulting need to deliver significant capital receipts and revenue savings".

Deputy mayor Craig Cheney
Deputy mayor Craig Cheney said the council has reviewed its property portfolio because of financial pressures

This prompted the authority to identify assets in its portfolio that were "no longer required for service delivery are prioritised and accelerated", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Cabinet approved the open market disposal of five surplus assets in July 2022 and this report identifies a further six which are either vacant or underused," he added.

Prior to disposal on the open market there will be reviews to assess suitability for use by housing as temporary accommodation, housing development or for sale to registered providers, he said.

One of the buildings, at Capgrave Crescent in Brislington, where 24 employees work, is a "children's therapeutic hub" and family contact centre for foster carers and kids in care.

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A report to cabinet said that in "early discussion with service lead would suggest a need to continue to provide this service".

However a tweet by mayor Marvin Rees during the meeting, suggested that the freehold buildings were "disused offices" and "derelict" and did not mention their current use.

The pending sales came after it was reported in September that the council needed to find £31m in savings to balance the books.

Mr Rees' budget - which is due to be decided in a full council meeting on 21 February - proposed £16.2m of cuts and savings in 2023/24 and £30.2m overall as the local authority faces a £20.3m annual budget gap, which is forecast to double in four years.

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