Project to sell surplus public sites exceeds target

A government pledge to raise billions of pounds by selling off surplus land and buildings which were no longer needed by the public sector has been exceeded.

In 2015, the Cabinet Office said it would raise £5 billion by 2020 through selling off surplus sites for redevelopment projects, including the construction of new housing, commercial developments and the creation of new open spaces. The target has been exceeded by almost £200 million.

Since the Land and Property Disposals Programme began, more than 5,200 hectares of land and hundreds of under-used and empty buildings which no longer had a purpose for the public sector have been sold.

In the last year alone, a total of 277 surplus sites, including many previously used brownfield plots, were sold, taking the total number of receipts over the past five years up to 2,206.

Cabinet Office Minister, Lord Agnew, said: “Through the Land and Property Disposals Programme, we have taken publicly owned sites which were no longer needed by the public sector and given them new purposes, including as sites for much needed new housing, business developments and the creation of new open spaces. Vitally, we have also put £5.2 billion back into the public purse, which will help to fund the public services that people up and down the country use every day.”