Nottingham City Council in more than a billion pounds of debt
Nottingham City Council has issued a warning about the current level of debt it is facing, which has reached in excess of a billion pounds. It has warned that it is 'at risk of becoming unsustainable'.
A new report, published by the City Council itself, highlights a range of serious risk to the finances at the council. They include:
the £64.4 million impact of Covid, even after government support
failure of council-run Robin Hood Energy
investment in the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre regeneration
The debt levels equate to around three thousand five hundred pound per person in the city. Compared with other similar-sized councils, Nottingham City had the second-highest level of debt, at around £1.154 billion in 2019.
In comparison:
Nottingham had the highest ratio of interest payable to net expenditure, compared to similar-sized councils.
Other factors for the debt include:
- a £70 million funding gap for major building projects
- a £300 million bill to upgrade the London Road district heating network
The City Council report is due to be signed off by the Council Leader at the end of the week. It concludes that the effectiveness of how it governs 'needs improvement'.
An external auditor which delivered a damning report into the council's handling of the failed Robin Hood Energy venture, is due to issue findings on the value for money offered by the City Council in the next few weeks.
Nottingham City Council has said it's "unlikely" to get back all of the £17 million invested in the redevelopment of the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre.
It's not yet clear how much the council has lost from the failure of its Robin Hood Energy venture - but it could be around £38 million. The total amount could depend on how many energy customers switch over to Centrica. So what now for the council ?
At an earlier meeting on the budget issues, the council said: