Southampton City Council has confirmed Tudor House and Garden is not up for sale after a BBC report said it was being sold.

This comes after the public service broadcaster published an article on Wednesday morning, titled: ‘The councils selling the family silver to pay bills'.

The article is led on the true fact that Southampton City Council is trying to raise millions from the sale of assets to plug a huge gap in its finances.

The BBC said  Southampton’s oldest museum and historic building Tudor House and Gardens was being offered for sale to meet short-term debt, along with art galleries, car parks, and land.

However, in an unusual move, the council publicly refuted the accuracy of the story, calling it 'false'.

The BBC later amended the article to say Tudor House was at one point being considered for sale. The council - which has not published a full list of properties for sale - said this is inaccurate.

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Writing on X, Southampton City Council’s official account stated: “Please note that this report is false.

“Tudor House and Gardens is not up for sale, neither are any art galleries.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the council added: “Southampton City Council would like to advise that today’s article on the BBC website contains inaccuracies around the sale of Tudor House and Garden museum, and art galleries in Southampton.

“We can confirm that Tudor House and Garden Museum, and art galleries are not on the list of assets that were approved for development or disposal at the Full Council meeting on March 20, 2024 – and are therefore not for sale as reported.”

As reported, the council has been granted Exceptional Financial Support by the Government.

This allows the authority to sell off assets and buildings. The council previously confirmed this would include car parks but has not released a full list.

The support package gives the council permission to generate up to £121.6m to pay for running costs.

This includes helping plug a £30m shortfall for 2023/24. Savings had been made to leave just £7.7m to find this year - but more savings are needed next financial year.