Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet agreed to sell various properties last month as part of a capital asset strategy. Some sites could be used for council housing.
But members of the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee have “called in” the cabinet decision for review.
Their reasons were “an absence of sufficient evidence on which to base a decision” and whether there was “sufficient consultation with stakeholders”.
Councillors will consider the cabinet decision in more detail at a special meeting on Monday 19 May amid concerns over excessive secrecy rather than just a proper level of commercial confidentiality.
The financial details of the report to the cabinet were contained in confidential papers.
Four of the properties were identified including the old Homewood College site, in Queensdown School Road, Brighton, after the school’s closure last November.
The other properties listed were an old school caretaker’s house, in Hangleton Way, Hove, an empty office, in Shenfield Way, Hollingdean, and a vacant cottage, in Stanmer Village.
At the cabinet meeting, Green councillor Pete West said that the council was planning to “sell off the family silver” without scrutiny.
He called for openness and transparency about the proposed £20 million investment fund and criticised the report to the council’s cabinet for identifying just four assets earmarked for sale.
Councillor West said: “This is clearly the thin end of what Labour plan to sell, with the rest hidden beneath the convenient guise of commercial sensitivity.
“We elected members of the council and the public are left to wonder what else is being lined up for privatisation (and) how far this might go.
“These are public assets. They do not belong to the Labour administration. They belong to the people of Brighton and Hove, held in trust by the council.”
The Labour deputy leader of the council Jacob Taylor presented the report to the cabinet and told Councillor West that he was happy to share the confidential papers with councillors.
Councillor Taylor said: “I reject totally the idea that we’re not transparent and open to scrutiny many times. I’ve taken a few things proactively to scrutiny committee.
“The papers will be shared with the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee. I understand that committee may well call in the decision and if it is called in, I would welcome that.”
Councillor Taylor told the cabinet that land was at a premium, with a lack of building land because Brighton and Hove was hemmed in between the South Downs National Park and the sea.
Before the cabinet vote to approve the strategy and dispose the of four “assets”, Councillor Taylor said: “It is incumbent on us, in the context of the housing crisis, to look at every single bit of land and say, can we use that for housing? And can we use it for council housing and social housing?
“That’s exactly what we’re proposing. We’re proposing a number of sites to be permitted for release for better use for the city.
“And the primary objective there is to get more housing in the city, starting with social housing and council housing.”
The Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee call-in panel meeting is due to start at 1pm on Monday 19 May at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
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