Three London town halls could be converted into hotels, as councils aim to rationalise their property in the wake of an average 4.4% cut to local authority budgets.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council is about to appoint Lambert Smith Hampton to sell the 19th-century Fulham Town Hall (pictured), pending a final cabinet …

Blackburn Council is set to appeal a government decision which approved developer Lend Lease’s £700m retail development in Tithebarn, Preston last year.
Despite the Secretary of State’s decision to give the development, which is anchored by John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, planning permission in November 2010, Councillor Dave Harling, executive …

Wirral Waters, Peel’s £4.5bn regeneration scheme in Merseyside, has been granted final planning approval by the secretary of state.
The 17m sq ft plan for the East Float site on the derelict docks in Birkenhead was approved by Wirral council’s planning committee last month. But it needed final approval by the …

Boris Johnson plans to create a Thames Gateway Strategic Partnership as one of a raft of new bodies set to be responsible for regeneration and public assets in London.
Speaking today at Property Week’s Thames Gateway Forum conference in Canary Wharf, the London mayor said that a new partnership of leaders …

Drivers Jonas Deloitte has been appointed project manager for four London 2012 temporary venues.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has appointed Drivers Jonas Deloitte to manage Greenwich Park, the equestrian events and modern pentathlon venue, Horses Guards Parade where beach volleyball will be hosted, The Mall, which …

Birmingham City Council has saved £3m in the last 12 months by vacating leasehold properties.
The council announced today that its Working for the Future programme had resulted in a number of buildings being vacated, creating savings on running costs and rent.
Staff have vacated city centre leased properties including Alpha Tower, …

Vandalism to the Conservative Party’s headquarters on Millbank following yesterday’s student protest is set to cost tens of thousands of pounds to fix.
Yesterday, around 50,000 students protested against the government’s plan to charge students up to £9,000 per year for tuition fees from 2012, three times the current annual £3,290 …

Aberdeen City Council has agreed to set up a city development company into which it will transfer publicly-owned assets for redevelopment.
Last night, councillors on the enterprise, planning and infrastructure committee voted in favour of the project to create a development company called One Aberdeen, despite concerns from members of the …

Glasgow City Council has today started a body to stimulate private sector growth and has recruited former council regeneration director Steve Inch to lead its infrastructure work.
The council has recruited a panel of private and public sector business and economic development leaders to run the commission, which will look …

This week, 1,300 professionals in the public and private sector gathered to talk about sweating publicly owned assets and financing regeneration.
They were attending the inaugural Public Property Summit in London on 1 and 2 November.
To see photos from the event and get a flavour of the atmosphere, take a look …