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THE Isle of Wight Council has spent more than £5.45 million maintaining empty properties over a two-year period, according to a new national study. The TaxPayers’ Alliance's latest research has revealed thousands of council-owned buildings across the country have been vacant, costing taxpayers tens of millions of pounds in insurance, security, maintenance and renovation.
Between January 2022 and December 2023, at least 4,908 council-owned non-residential properties were vacant for all or part of that time, with 3,408 of these properties making up a total of over 8.3 million square metres. Read more: Isle of Wight Council millions of pounds overspend forecast Isle of Wight Council Pension Fund assets increase in value The Isle of Wight alone accounted for £5,452,726 of the total spent on vacant properties — the highest figure for the South East region.
Shimeon Lee, a researcher at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: "Taxpayers will be amazed by the property portfolio that has been built up by big-spending town hall bosses. "But what will really shock residents is the number of local authorities which have allowed prime real estate to sit vacant, despite complaining incessantly about the perilous state of their finances." He called on councils to "carefully review their assets" and develop a strategy for any that are being under-utilised.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance is urging councils to reconsider plans to expand their property portfolios and, to sell off empty properties if they cannot be filled. The funds raised from selling these commercial investments, can currently only be used for capital purposes, or for projects that lead to ongoing savings or efficiency improvements. The Isle of Wight Council has been asked to comment on the findings.
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