The government has sold £2.1bn of property during the past year, as it slims down its estate.
The Cabinet Office said that the sale proceeds from 339 sites, collectively measuring just under 3m sq ft, have reduced running costs by £50m.
The size of the estate has reduced by 30% over the past decade.
Departments that have made large-scale disposals during this period include the Ministry of Defence, which released 4,500 acres of land for housing and commercial use between 2015 and 2019.
Alongside this disposal strategy, the government is diversifying its estate away from London. A number of government hubs are under development, in cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Belfast, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “With billions tied up in buildings and prime Whitehall real estate, selling sites is a great way to cut costs for taxpayers, at a time when the majority of voters want to see more central government offices and jobs moved outside of London.
“This should signal the start of a drive for departments to divest themselves of as much underused property as possible.”
To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette
