Twenty councils have been selected for the second phase of a programme to release surplus government land and property.
The One Public Estate programme uses land and property released by government to boost economic growth and regeneration. The Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association (LGA) run the programme together to encourage sharing services, reducing running costs and generating capital receipts.
The 20 councils taking part in the second phase of the One Public Estate programme are:
- Manchester City, Trafford, Bury, Oldham, Salford and Stockport
- Norfolk and Suffolk in partnership with Forest Heath and St. Edmondsbury (West Suffolk)
- Liverpool
- Birmingham
- Barnet
- Croydon
- Plymouth
- Southampton
- Kent
- York
- Cornwall
- Bradford
They join the initial 12 pilot councils that took part in the first phase of the programme in 2013.
- Bristol
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Essex
- Hampshire
- Hull
- Leeds
- Nottingham
- Portsmouth
- Sheffield
- Surrey
- Warrington
- Worcestershire
The programme is already projected to save £21m in running costs and raise £88m in capital receipts.
Councillor Peter Fleming, chair of the LGA's improvement and innovation board, said: “The One Public Estate programme demonstrates the successes which can be achieved when councils and government get together to release land for growth and service improvements, which in turn leads to housing, job creation and economic growth. The first round has been extremely successful and this second round will continue to build on the good work achieved so far. Local authorities have been in the driving seat and the achievements made during the first wave represent a tiny proportion of what we believe One Public Estate can achieve.”
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said: “As part of this government’s long-term economic plan we have got out of 1,250 buildings since the last general election generating hundreds of millions in savings and creating more opportunities for housing and jobs.
“This programme shows what can be done when central and local government work together, and it’s great to see more and more local authorities entering the programme and demonstrating a readiness to save money for taxpayers, create new jobs and deliver better services by using their assets more efficiently.”
