Welsh Conservatives have today called for clarity on figures that show the Welsh Government currently owns or leases almost a hundred buildings that it doesn’t use.
92 are owned by the government, while another six are leased by it. Some have not been in use since 2003, while others were emptied over the last five years.
The majority – 83 – are the property of the Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science department. Six are owned or leased by People, Places and Corporate Services and nine by the government’s Transport department.
The figures – also broken down into areas – have been revealed in a freedom of information response published on the Welsh Government’s website. The response claims a small number are not suitable for occupation, some are being refurbished and some (13) are under offer.
With a total of 25, Gwynedd has the most government buildings not in use. Seven were vacated in 2011, five in 2009 and 12 in 2006.
Shadow Minister for Finance, Paul Davies AM, said:
“To have this many buildings lying dormant and gathering dust is astonishing.
“That the vast majority are owned by the very department tasked with getting our economy moving is farcical. There needs to be a sense of urgency regarding their future and swift moves should be made in either making money from them or using them for business support.
“Taxpayers will rightly question why so many premises – many probably very valuable – have been allowed to fester for up to nine years.”
Shadow Minister for Business, Nick Ramsay AM, said:
“I find it hard to understand how the business minister can justify sitting on 83 vacant buildings. There’s no sense in it and I dread to think how much money is being wasted.
“While I understand the ownership of some disused buildings is inevitable, and a small portion of those in this list are under offer, the sheer laziness of having so many for so long is unforgivable.
“We need to know how much money is being flushed away on them and how that waste will be stopped.”
