Birmingham City Council could be forced to sell hundreds of assets after it is put into special measures this week.
Levelling up secretary Michael Gove is expected to announce tomorrow that government-appointed commissioners will take over day-to-day running of operations at Europe’s largest local authority.
The commissioners are also expected to examine the books and make recommendations to Gove about what assets need to be sold to generate funds.
The council owns about 54,000 council houses and a number of potentially lucrative buildings, including the 10-year-old Central Library, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Aston Hall and Sarehole Mill, an 18th-century mill that is said to have been the inspiration for a mill at Hobbiton in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
It has previously sold several assets, including the National Exhibition Centre for £307m in 2015.
