The City of London has made more than £10m in the last four years from selling off roads to help promote redevelopment within the Square Mile, it has emerged.
Nine plots of ‘surplus highway land’ were sold off by the authority between 2010-11 and 2013-14 making a total of £10.3m, City AM reports.
The figures were obtained through a freedom of information request and revealed that roughly half of the cash was made in one sale of land around Walbrook Square, with Legal & General purchasing it in 2010-11 for £5.3m.
All the sales were made to ‘facilitate redevelopment’, with the roads having to be declared as ‘surplus’ before they can be sold to enable such schemes under current rules.
This often relates to a road or pavement ‘whose usefulness has changed because of changes around it’, according to a City of London spokesperson.
They added that while the roads are in the nation’s most expensive real estate area statutory protections include valuations to ensure full value is received.
‘It's about securing the appropriate use of land, bearing in mind our aim to support the UK's global business hub - and alongside that, ensuring prudent long-term asset management,’ they said.
Bloomberg, Network Rail and Great Portland Estates, were also listed as buying highway land from the local authority.
