By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
The leaseholder of a pub in Clifton says it will “continue to trade as usual” after Nottingham City Council revealed it would be auctioning it off in a bid to claw back cash.
The Labour-run authority says it will be selling the freehold for The Fairham Hotel in Farnborough Road, meaning the property and the land it stands on will be put up for auction.
Admiral Taverns, which runs more than 1,600 pubs across the country, is the current leaseholder.
The landlady and tenant of the pub spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service to say she could not comment but confirmed she was aware of the sale.
Nottingham City Council is selling off assets as a way to chip away at debt which stands at roughly £900m.
So far it has been able to trim debt levels down from £1.2bn through measures such as its Asset Rationalisation Programme.
Its finances are being monitored by a Government-appointed improvement board, which was put in place upon the collapse of Robin Hood Energy.
Cllr Kevin Clarke (Ind), who represents Clifton East, says: “I am fully aware of this, selling off the family jewels to make up the short fall of misspent money.
“The problem is you can only sell things once, so no more income from rentals after the sales.”
Admiral Taverns confirmed the pub would continue to trade but did not state for how long or whether this would continue to be the case once the freehold is sold at auction next year.
A spokeswoman from Admiral Taverns said: “Nottingham City Council have made us aware that it will be putting the freehold for The Fairham Hotel in Clifton to auction in the spring next year, but this will not affect our current leasehold and tenant, and the pub will continue to trade as usual.”
Delegated decision documents, which revealed the council’s plans, state: “To declare the premises known as the Fairham Hotel Public House, Clifton, Nottingham, NG11 8LT surplus to the Trading Account and make the freehold available for disposal.
“No alternative operational, regeneration, community or other requirements have been identified.”
Between 2020/21 to 2021/22 the council made £30.7m from asset sales.
It currently owns more than 3,600 property assets with a collective value of more than £1bn, and a further £90m-worth of assets will be put on the market over the next four years.
It is anticipated there will also be an additional £15m black-hole in its finances as a result of the cost of living crisis, rising energy bills and inflation.
