Strategy review for council's remaining £37m investment pot
'Other options' are available
“OTHER options”, including social housing, are being explored for the £37.4m remaining in West Berkshire Council’s commercial property investment pot.
The council has borrowed £100m from the Public Works Loan Board and has invested £62.6m in commercial property.
The council embarked on the scheme following increased demand for services alongside a reduction in government funding.
But, faced with new pressures, the council is reviewing its strategy.
Members of the overview and scrutiny management commission discussed how the remaining £37m could be spent at a meeting last Tuesday.
Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition Lee Dillon (Thatcham North West) said that while the income generation was key to the council, social impact value was also needed.
Mr Dillon suggested investing in social housing for the district.
“The yields might not be as great, but I contest that you’re killing two birds with one stone,” he said.
“You’re generating some income for the council plus you’re providing much-needed facilities and services for the wider West Berkshire community.”
Deputy opposition leader Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) added: “If we were building affordable housing locally, and therefore reducing a lot of pressure on our housing department and our housing needs, that might be a better outcome for the people of West Berkshire.
“Are we doing any work on that or we just going to plough on with our general policy regardless?”
The council is looking at several options for its remaining investment fund.
These include selling off the commercial property it has acquired or ceasing investment and managing the assets it has.
Responding to Mr Brooks, council leader Lynne Doherty (Con, Speen) said: “The simple answer to that is ‘yes we are’.”
Mrs Doherty said that options were being explored in a new housing strategy that is likely to be brought forward in March.
“We can swing that into a number of options we are looking at,” she said.
Executive director of resources Joseph Holmes said that it was a full council decision on what to do with the remaining funds.
He added that commercial property had been chosen as that was the strategy at the time the decision was made.
“You could choose to put more or less into any other investment,” he said. “You are not ring-fenced… we are looking at different options.”