Kent County Council makes £84m in five years from selling property assets, according to documents

Kent County Council has raised £84 million by selling property over the past five years, it has been revealed.

The authority made £27 million alone in 2025-26, Reform UK’s first year in charge, and is on course to achieve another £17 million in the next 12 months.

The details were revealed in papers before the influential policy and resources committee at County Hall yesterday morning.

The Green Party argue that suitable sites should be set aside for future social housing rather than fall into the hands of property developers.

Although the full list of properties sold and to be sold is secret, it is known to include the former Sevenoaks Adult Education Centre and Folkestone’s Grace Hill Library.

KCC says it now favours a “whole programme” rather than a “piecemeal” approach to disposals, which gives “greater transparency and strategic oversight”.

An asset is deemed where it is no longer needed for operational purposes, and the council has a “duty to minimise holding costs and realise value to support its priorities”.

Members went into closed session to discuss the individual sites which may be sold next.

Earlier, Rebecca Spore, the council’s director of infrastructure, said KCC would discuss disposals with the 12 district and borough councils to see “what might be possible around those sites”.

Several councillors warned that decisions must be made with the forthcoming reforms to local government in mind.

KCC, along with 13 other councils, could cease to exist inside three years and be replaced with a small number of larger unitary authorities.

The government is expected to announce which format the new make-up of Kent’s local authorities will take in July.

Ms Spore said: “It’s not for us to make decisions for future authorities.”

Green Party group leader Cllr Mark Hood said there was a need for sites to be set aside for social housing rather than sale.

Remarking that social housing has been a “failure” in Kent, he added: “By continuing with disposals, we are going to deprive successive councils the ability to provide social housing.

“My fear is that we will sell it all and it will be land-banked [by developers].”

KCC’s constitution provides delegation for disposal to Ms Spore if the value of the transaction is under £1 million.

Assets above this would require sign-off from the relevant cabinet member.