Lichfield District Council could sell off a building to help pay for the next phase of a city centre redevelopment scheme.
The plan to raise £650,000 through the sale of Venture House has been unveiled in a report to a meeting of the local authority’s cabinet next week.
The decision to offload the training facility is part of a proposal to help fund projects across the district, including the Birmingham Road Site development on land previously earmarked for Friarsgate.
A report from Cllr Rob Strachan, cabinet member for finance, said the money from the sale should be used to help foot the bill for the £2million of “enabling works” to allow the redevelopment to go ahead.
The detail was revealed as part of a review of the council’s financial reserves.
As well as outlining how the next phase of the redevelopment could be funded, it also warned that while the short term financial picture for the local authority was positive, members needed to be aware of the longer term challenges that could lie ahead.
“The level of reserves has increased across local government since 2013/14 due to the localisation of Council Tax Support and the local retention of business rates. The levels have further increased since 2020/21 due to Covid grants.
“The various comparisons available show that the council’s reserves were in a healthy position relative to all district councils, and this provides an element of resilience for financial ‘shocks’ such as the pandemic.
“However, it is important to note that while the short term picture based on the increases in reserves may appear to suggest that generally local government finances are sustainable, there remains concern about the medium-term to long-term outlook which remains unsettled and uncertain.”
Cllr Rob Strachan, Lichfield District Council
Venture House, on Davidson Road, opened in 2007 as part of the City Wharf development. It was built to allow employers and community groups access to training facilities in the city.
The report added that selling council-owned properties and facilities could play an ongoing part in paying for projects across the district.
“The potential sale of further assets would increase the level of the capital receipts reserve that could be used to fund additional capital investment, reduce planned borrowing or to reduce the use of earmarked reserves thereby increasing the level of usable reserves.”
Cllr Rob Strachan, Lichfield District Council
