Council Sells £4.6m College for £1, Then Pays £800k Rent

Peterborough City Council transferred a £4.6 million building to a charity for one pound in 2020. The John Mansfield Centre houses City College Peterborough, which the council owns. Taxpayers now face nearly £800,000 in rent payments without a written lease.

The transaction bypassed legal safeguards. Councils require secretary of state consent to sell assets over £2 million below market value. No such approval exists for this £4.6 million deal.

A single officer approved the sale via a flawed delegated form. The document falsely claimed the charity formed specifically for the building’s management. Police arrested three people on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Rent started at £17,010 monthly, rising to £29,010 by 2021. The council added £300,000 in maintenance payments, deemed unlawful. Total losses exceed £1.1 million, with no clear path to recovery.

Governance Breakdown

The council cannot repurchase the site. Legal uncertainty clouds the college’s occupancy rights. Negotiations with the charity drag on, prolonging the damage.

Labour cabinet member Mohammed Jamil calls this proof of improved governance since 2022. Statutory officers identified the wrongdoing, he says. Yet the report emerged four years after the sale, amid an ongoing police probe.

No resignations followed. Officers responsible retain positions or move elsewhere. Voters foot the bill through council tax hikes or service cuts.

Pattern of Asset Stripping

Local authorities repeat such errors nationwide. In 2023, auditors flagged 20 councils for improper land deals worth £500 million combined. Peterborough joins Slough and others in selling public assets undervalued, often to connected entities.

Cross-party councils enable this. Conservatives ran Peterborough until 2021; Labour took over without reversing the decay. Central government audits fail to deter repeats.

Taxpayers lose twice: assets vanish, then rent returns to intermediaries. Charities like CCPF, founded in 2013, gain buildings and income streams. Public education suffers amid the fallout.

Productivity in adult learning stalls. City College prioritizes minimal disruption for learners. But £1.1 million diverted from classrooms funds legal fixes instead.

Institutional Inertia

UK local government balances 27% of public spending on shrinking budgets. Asset sales promise efficiency but deliver waste. National Oversight bodies like the Levelling Up department issue guidance ignored in practice.

Historical comparisons expose decline. Pre-2000 councils sold assets with full transparency and market tenders. Now, delegated powers enable solo decisions by mid-level staff.

Accountability evaporates. Police investigations rarely yield convictions; one in five misconduct cases ends in charges. Perpetrators face civil slaps, not jail.

This Peterborough case crystallizes broader rot. Public buildings fuel private or charitable gains while councils hemorrhage cash. Ordinary citizens pay higher taxes for fewer services, as institutions prioritize self-preservation over stewardship.

The £1 sale reveals how local power operates: unchecked officers, absent oversight, and taxpayer-funded bailouts. Britain’s municipal framework no longer safeguards assets. Decline accelerates as trust in governance hits record lows.