Investing in Telford and Wrekin
Telford & Wrekin Council has explained the need to borrow in order to invest in ventures that make profits which are then spent on keeping essential frontline services.
Councillor Lee Carter, Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet member for Finance, cited three examples that are generating an income:
- Nuplace – developing homes for private rent
bringing in £600,000 a year after the costs have been covered.
- Solar farm at Wheat Leasows – due to make at
least £200,000 a year for the next 20 years, after costs have been
covered.
- Property investment portfolio – providing land to attract business development, such as Magna and Polytech at T54, creating approx.. 400 jobs in the first phase with many more hundreds of jobs to follow.
Councillor Carter said: “This is good, responsible borrowing. It’s earning more than it’s costing. By 2019 NuPlace, the solar farm and our property investment portfolio will help generate £2.2m a year for the Council. Just these three schemes alone will help pay for 150,000 hours per year of home care for our most vulnerable residents. If we sold off these assets, if we didn’t invest in these schemes, that would be income lost to the Council.
“For every pound that the Council loses in income, it’s a pound less to invest in services that are most important to our people; services that keep elderly residents at home for longer, services that help protect the most vulnerable children within our community – services which are already, massively under pressure from government cuts.”
The
council has made a short film explaining the investment.
