Property sales slump hits council

Property sales have not generated the receipts expected

A slowdown in property buying is set to leave a council £1.3m short of its annual sales target.

Dumfries and Galloway Council had hoped to bring in capital receipts of more than £2.7m from the sale of surplus land and property this financial year.

However, by the end of the October it had only managed to complete deals worth about £220,000.

Further sales should take the council closer to its initial target which is now "not considered achievable".

A report to councillors said the failure to meet the goal set out in the authority's financial efficiency strategy was down to "market conditions".

MAIN COUNCIL PROPERTY RECEIPTS 2008/09 £120,000 Blackparks, Stranraer £90,000 Nunwood, Dumfries £25,000 Kintail, Lockerbie

It said many other councils had seen a similar "slowing down in the generation of capital receipts" due to the "downturn in the property market".

However, it is still estimated that about £1.4m can be realised before the end of the financial year.

That target will be regularly reviewed but the final total is likely to be short of that achieved in recent years.

In 2006/07 about £4m was realised by property and land sales with about £1.7m generated last year.

The latest figures do not include the sale proceeds from combined services depots in the region.

They will be used to contribute towards the cost of new depots at Cargenbridge and Lockerbie.