A cash-strapped council which revealed a list of properties it intends to offer for sale in order to claw back funds says it won’t need to offload them all.

And those earmarked for sale will be offered to leaseholders and community groups first.

Labour-run Medway Council is poised to offload up to 30 of its own assets to help scale down its costly maintenance spend on buildings and reduce its predicted budget overspend.

Earlier this week the full list of major properties shortlisted for sale was revealed, including Temple Manor, a grade-I listed manor house in Strood, Gillingham Golf Club, and Rainham District Shopping Centre.

The moves comes as the authority attempts to bring down the overall predicted overspend of the council - which was predicted to be £16.5million in July.

At the regeneration, culture and environment committee held last night (October 10), council officers suggested the list of properties shortlisted for sale where chosen as they raised less in rental revenue than they cost in debt repayment for the property.

They went on to state the council needed to raise £20million from selling off properties over the next five years, meaning not all 30 on the list would need to be sold.

Additionally, they said properties currently occupied, such as Gillingham Business Park, would be offered to the leaseholders at market price first.

If the leaseholder couldn’t afford to make the purchase, but the property had significant community value, such as Warren Woods Social Club or Gillingham Golf Club, then the council would do what it could to help with asset of community value (ACV) bids.

If there are no bids, or they are unsuccessful, they would be sold on the open market - but officers guaranteed current leases would not be broken regardless of who bought the freehold.

Medway Council’s director of place, Adam Bryan, said the list was a starting point, but all properties on the list had been identified following a review of whether they were of more value for the council to keep or sell.

He said: “It is important to say this is not a statement on the services or tenants that occupy these properties, or the benefits they bring to Medway.

“It’s been done on a very mathematical basis and just because a property is on the list doesn’t mean it’s going to be sold - just that it has to be considered.”

Councillors raised concerns of short-term gain but long-term losses if the properties were sold too quickly and asked why the council had owned properties across the UK at a meeting on October 10.

Cllr Andrew Lawrence (Con) said the principle of selling properties which cost the council more than they raised in revenue was sound, but wanted to know if other conditions which might make the properties worth keeping had been considered.

“It makes a lot of sense to consider the disposal of any property where there is very little yield, it’s either derelict or it’s empty, or it requires a lot of maintenance which any yield we’re getting is being spent on.

“But if we dispose of, say, Gillingham Business Park or Rainham Shopping Centre, would we try put something in the sale document to retain its current use?

“The worst thing would be if we sell them and someone wants to build a load of housing on there and we then lose the economic value.”

Officers said conditions could be placed on properties but the authority needed to be careful because some conditions could be got round after a sale, but also some conditions could limit the value of the property.

Cllr Lawrence also asked if certain sites could be delayed for sale until after the new local plan was in place to prevent predatory development, but also to increase the value of land which the local plan would designate for housing, and officers said this would be the case.

Cllr Esther Cook (Lab) said when these properties are being considered for sale, it was essential the authority remember the value they offer to residents and take that into consideration.

She said: “I am hearing a tension between ‘We want to get the right amount of money’ but I just want assurance we’re always considering the vision and values of what Medway is and what we want it to be.

“Otherwise it is that short-termism of ‘Let’s sort this now’ rather than creating the Medway we want for the future.”

Officers said serving the residents as best as possible was at the front of the strategy around the management of all council properties.

Council leader Vince Maple (Lab) viewed the meeting from the public gallery to hear the committee’s comments.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), he said the previous administration had set targets for money to be raised from the selling of council properties each year, but had never met them.

As such the sales being proposed are catching up to where the authority should be, he added.

“Some of this work should have been done several years ago, and we're now catching up with that - but that doesn't mean we're moving at pace, we will go through due process,” Cllr Maple explained.

“We're not going to be taking a one-size-fits-all approach to this - each property will be evaluated individually on its own terms.”

One of the properties listed to be considered for sale is the Old Fire Station and Public Toilets Arches on New Cut in Chatham, where the Gurkha Fire Nepalese restaurant holds the lease.

Cabinet member Harinder Mahil (Lab) is a stakeholder in the business and the council leader said the administration was committed to being entirely transparent about the process to avoid any doubts from residents.

Cllr Maple added: “Cllr Mahil’s interest is on the public record, and both he and the administration are clear we want utter transparency.

“In discussions on this topic by the cabinet so far Cllr Mahil has left the room while it was discussed and going forward he will do so because we take that level of transparency very seriously and it’s the right thing to do.”

The list was the result of the first round of a review of the authority’s non-operational properties - meaning those which the council owns but which don’t provide a council service.

Operational properties, such as schools, libraries, and the Pentagon Shopping Centre, will be considered in phase two which is due to report early next year.

The review of properties was recommended by the Chartered Institute of Public Finnace and Accountancy (CIPFA), who helped Medway Council create plans to manage its budget last year and reach financial stability.

The report was approved by seven votes for (Lab seven), four against (Con three, IndGr one), and two abstentions (Con two).

It will now go to cabinet to consider the committee’s comments and decide whether to approve the selling of properties.