Islington Council's Executive has agreed to sell off 14 council-owned assets deemed surplus to requirements, generating capital receipts to help fund services and acquire new homes.
The decision, made at the Executive meeting on Thursday 22 October 2026, will see the disposal of properties and land that are no longer needed by the council. Councillor Paul Convery, Executive Member for Finance, explained that these assets were reviewed in line with the Strategic Asset Management Plan, and that disposal offers the best value to the council.
Assets are declared surplus to requirements if they are no longer needed for their original holding purpose, not being used by any service, where no service has an identified and funded need, and where no alternative, beneficial or funded use has been identified. They are also reviewed for temporary accommodation, provision of direct delivery viable residential housing, a market review to support revenue income generation, and community/social use opportunities.
The capital receipts generated from these disposals will be used to make revenue savings to support financial pressures for the General Fund. For assets within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), the receipts will support the acquisition of family-sized homes to address temporary accommodation pressures.
Councillor Convery stated that the council owns 922 non-residential assets, including operational buildings, schools, nurseries, community buildings, and plots of land, with an asset value of approximately £1.3 billion. He emphasised that of the 14 assets proposed for disposal, all but two are currently vacant.
The two non-residential assets that are not currently vacant are 7 Newington Barrow Way, which has a GP surgery on the first floor, and 48 Seven Sisters Road, which is currently occupied by Streets Kitchen on a meanwhile use basis.
The sale terms for Newton Barrow Way will protect NHS uses on that site. For the property on Seven Sisters Road, the council intends to help Street's Kitchen identify more suitable accommodation.
The Executive agreed that the assets identified in the report are declared surplus and recommended for disposal. Authority was delegated to the Corporate Director of Community Wealth Building, in consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources and the Executive Member for Finance, to finalise terms and complete the disposals. The estimated value of these disposals is reported in the exempt appendix, item 12, of the Public reports pack 22nd Oct 2026 17:00 Executive, and there is an aggregate total which will be a substantial capital receipt.
This decision was made at the Executive meeting on 22nd October 2026.