REVEALED: Wirral Council owns more than 1,000 properties across the borough worth half a billion pounds

Aug 24 2011 by Liam Murphy, Birkenhead News

WIRRAL Council owns more than 1,000 properties across the borough valued at over half a billion pounds, according to details released by the authority.

The properties range from advertising hoardings in New Chester Road worth £174,950 to agricultural land valued at £898,870 and development sites across the Wirral valued at £5,823,321.

In total just over 1,000 council owned assets are valued at £584,407,628.

The details were released after a Freedom of Information request through the whatdotheyknow.com website, and come just days after communities secretary Eric Pickles demanded that all local authorities publish a list of the buildings they own.

Wirral’s Tory leader Jeff Green said it was “a shame that rather than being open and honest this had to come out through a Freedom of Information request”.

He said: “It would be better for them to carry on opening things up rather than it looking like the council has something to hide.

“All these assets belong to the public and are held in trust for them by the council.”