The question is simple: should local authorities own valuable asets on behalf of the people, or should they sell them off and use the money to invest in local amenities?

At a time when local authorities are having to make drastic cuts ins ervices and lose staff to meet holes in their budgets, the answer would appear simple. Sell off the assets and harvest the cash.

But as with all debates of this nature, the simple headline facts – in this case that some Hampshire authorities own riding stables, beach huts, pubs and shops – don’t always tell the full story.

Those assets, say the councils, are not just an investment for the future but bring in valuable revenue that can be put towards the day to day running costs of the authority. Services may then be lost, more staff lost of the assets were sold off? Perhaps.

In the case of New Forest District Council, its ownership of 879 beach huts brings in a healthy £298,000 in rent from locals and holidaymakers. That is a lot of income to lose for a small authority.

For the Taxpayer’s Alliance, who have revealed the latest list of assets in the hands of local authorities and called for much to be sold off, the response is that it is hypocritcal of councils to pelad poverty and yet be asset rich.

This may be the case, but would a quick fix fire sale benefit communities in the long term?