Frontline council services across Harborough and Leicestershire set to get a £7.1 million for fixing potholes and social care for adults and children

Frontline council services across Harborough and Leicestershire are to get a supercharged £7.1 million cash injection.

The cash has been generated by Leicestershire County Council’s commercial property investments over the last 12 months – an increase of 2.89 per cent.

The developed properties owned by the council produced a total net return of 6.2 per cent compared to the bank base rate of 0.3 per cent.

The money will go towards fixing and preventing potholes and delivering social care for adults and children as well as on other crucial services.

Cllr Byron Rhodes, the county council’s cabinet member for finance and resources, said: “It is very encouraging to see that our portfolio of properties is thriving and performing better than the industry average.

“This continued good performance allows us to fund important services at this particularly difficult time with Covid-19 putting additional burdens on our finances.”

He added: “Our approach of bringing new life to old commercial sites and building new workspaces is creating hundreds of jobs and boosting the economy.

“Crucially, it means we can invest money into vital frontline services, maintaining our roads, bringing down the inconvenience to people who use them, and explore how we can bolster social care services, supporting vulnerable people.”

Land and units are bought using one-off pots of money.

The council’s property portfolio includes:

Airfield Business Park in Market Harborough. The council expanded the site by 80,000 sq ft to offer industrial units to let, creating more than 200 jobs. Eight out of the 12 units available have been let, with another two under offer.

A new 100,000 sq ft building at Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park – creating a new HQ for tech firm The Access Group. It will create 500 jobs when it opens in November 2020.

Apollo Business Park in Coalville – offering 40,000 sq ft industrial units and creating 120 jobs. Eight units have been let, with another four under offer.

Quorn solar farm - plans to build a 62-acre solar farm – producing clean, green energy – alongside 45,500 sq ft of small business units have been submitted for approval.

The authority is aiming to ensure its developments will be built to be as sustainable as possible.

The council is setting out to produce zero carbon in the construction phase and be as energy efficient as possible as part of a pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030.