£300 million worth of publicly owned property and land are to be put on the market, as the regional development agencies that hold them are to be made defunct.
The extensive property sale includes the former Littlewoods building in Liverpool, the Portsmouth greyhound stadium and Scarborough Fish & Chips shop at Blands Cliff, Scarborough. Land sales include the land joined onto the Edgbaston cricket ground, part of the site of the Durham Tees Valley airport, and an area at the Temple Quay in Bristol.
It is yet to be decided how the cash raised from the sales will be used. There is a debate in Westminster over whether the funds should be put into the public coffers or used to encourage local regeneration.
The Conservatives ordered that the agencies be closed down after the coalition gained power in May 2010.
The agencies had gathered formerly commercial and private properties and brownfield land whilst Labour was in power.
The money will not be put into the Government’s new Local Enterprise Partnerships, Business Minister, Mark Prisk, told the Times newspaper.
He explained, “A better overall value for the public purse will be obtained by drawing funds into a single budget to help all areas meet their objectives in realising the economic benefits from the assets.”
