Councillor says talks around selling off community buildings in Peterborough haven't been 'open and transparent'

The contents of a secret list of nearly 80 public buildings Peterborough City Council (PCC) is considering selling off remains a mystery.

The list, which we know includes libraries, leisure facilities and community centres (but not which ones), was discussed in a private meeting by councillors this week.

The same councillors – members of one of PCC’s scrutiny committee – voted last month to defer discussing the report until at least part of it was made public.

The council then issued a new report which included numbers but no names: it revealed that 36 community centres are on the longlist of assets which could be sold to save cash as well as 17 children centres.

There are also 10 libraries (i.e. every library in Peterborough) on the list, seven buildings used for leisure facilities and nine marked ‘other’, making 79 in total.

Most councillors on the scrutiny committee appeared satisfied with this new report, voting to move to a private session to discuss it.

But Cllr Nick Sandford (Liberal Democrats, Paston and Walton) asked that his abstention to the vote be officially recorded because he was “uncomfortable with excluding the press and public” from the discussion.

“My personal view is that there’s an overwhelming public interest in this issue being talked about in public,” he said. “So I’m uncomfortable with what I don’t perceive has been an open and transparent process.

“Even though this item is still at an early stage, it’s still making proposals with regards to assets the council owns, some of which may or may not be controversial.”

Cllr Sandford also said that he believes the committee’s earlier request for a report on the buildings that could be discussed in public had not been properly fulfilled.

But the committee’s chair, Cllr Amjad Iqbal (Labour, Central), said that his understanding was that “we asked officers to go back and produce a report with the maximum they could disclose” and that councillors should also remember that “protecting the council is always in the public interest”.

“We have to take officers’ advice on board and I’m quite comfortable with this report and that this is as much as they could disclose,” he said.

He and officers – the council’s staff who undertake its day-to-day running – also stressed that no decisions about any of the council’s assets would be made during that private meeting and that the operators and users of the facilities chosen for sale will be consulted beforehand.

Officers present at the meeting also said that “no attempt is being made to prevent members of the public from being involved in discussions”.

Asked by another councillor when the public might be made aware of which buildings could be sold, they said that they will come forth on a “case by case basis” as some will be more complicated to sell or repurpose than others.

Over the next six to eight weeks, discussions will take place with operators and then the public, they added, with any decisions also being brought to the council’s cabinet before returning to the scrutiny committee for yet more discussion.