Tories lose control of council with £1bn property empire

The Conservatives have lost control of Spelthorne Borough Council for the first time in its history, after six councillors, including the council leader, Ian Harvey quit the party.

The Surrey borough made national headlines in 2018 after investing almost £1bn in commercial property, but six senior councillors quit the ruling party last week after the local Conservative’s AGM and formed their own group, the United Spelthorne Group.

This means that for the first time in Spelthorne’s history, the Conservatives no longer have majority control of the council.

A council spokesman told New Start it is planning to hold an extraordinary council meeting on 25 June at which it will consider the motion to remove the current leader and to confirm a leader for the remaining period until the next local elections in May 2023.

Several councils have invested in commercial property in recent years as a means of supplementing lost income from central government.

But the scale of investment by a handful of local authorities, including Spelthorne has prompted the influential public accounts committee (PAC) to launch an inquiry into councils investing in commercial property.

There has been speculation over recent months that if the economy slows down because of the coronavirus pandemic, then it may hit councils who rely on rental income from investments.

‘When I took over as leader of the council in 2016, the borough was facing a severe financial crisis due to swingeing cuts to government and Surrey County Council grants, compounded by historic poor financial decisions,’ said Cllr Harvey.

‘Our renowned investment strategies have re-invigorated Spelthorne finances to the extent that we have now embarked on our ambitious second stage of regeneration and have commenced a building program which will deliver over 1,200 homes within five years.

‘We have delivered a balanced budget with increases below inflation for the last four years; the lowest council tax increases in Surrey this year. I am proud of what has been achieved under my leadership.’

Photo Credit – Jamie Hailstone