Council Gets Desperate As It Considers Selling Itself To Raise Revenue

With the sound of pursestrings snaping shut having become familiar to Swindonians, the Council has been forced to assess all possible options.

This includes comissioning a feasibility study into selling itself to raise much needed money.

The tendering of the entire council to the highest bidder has been mooted before behind closed doors, but never got beyond the thinking stage.

A Council spokeswoman apparently said ' with the possible sale of the Council we could ensure that the coffers would be comfortable for the forseeable future.' She declined to add that with the sale, the Council wouldn't have to pay for anything, so the money would end up being useless and not needed.

Reports that planning applications would end up having to be submitted to your local chip and pizza shop couldn't be confirmed this afternoon.

Accusations about the authority wasting money on feasibility studies has been taken on board with the promise of a feasibility study into suspending feasibility studies. Its conclusions are expected in 2009-12.

The Council did add though that even with this vast amount of money, it would still end up selling off Lower Shaw Farm, just to make sure it would eventually alienate everyone it serves in the town.

One local authority, do I hear, a tenner?