Croydon Council has made more than £10.5 million in selling off property across the borough, an investigation has revealed.

Between 2014 and 2018, the authority sold off 32 spaces for £10,589,146 – most of which came from selling off former council offices for just over £4 million.

Other properties disposed of include the West Croydon bus garage for £560,000 in May 2015 and Addington Palace Golf Club for £1 million during the same month.

It comes following a major collaborative investigation between HuffPost UK and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), following the publication of a new report.

Their investigation, Sold From Under You, found one in six councils across the country used a total of £381 million from property sales to “pay for cost-cutting” since April 2016.

And nearly a third of that – or £115 million – was reportedly used on pay-offs to make staff redundant, according to the report.

Compiled data shows more than 12,000 public spaces have been disposed of since the 2014/15 financial year, raising a total of £9.1 billion in sold property.

The report by HuffPost UK and TBIJ reads: “The findings lay bare the spiralling impact of eight successive years of austerity, leaving services shut and buildings closed.

“Councils have been forced to take even more desperate measures to stay in the black, as their funding from central government has been cut since 2010.”

Neighbouring Merton Council sold off six spaces for a touch over £1.4 million between 2015 and 2015, while figures regarding Bromley Council are expected to be updated soon.

Lambeth Council has sold off six spaces to the tune of nearly £24 million, the majority of which came from the sale of Rectory Grove for £22 million.

While Sutton Council sold off 12 spaces over approximately a three-year period, between 2014 and 2017, details of sale price and who the assets were transferred to were “incomplete”.

A Croydon Council spokesman said: “The money we get from responsibly selling some assets and council land has helped us to protect jobs, maintain frontline services for Croydon people and allow for much-needed local homes.

“With demand for council services continuing to rise while the Government continues to cut our grants, our medium-term financial planning is about balancing the books while making best use of all our available resources.”