A HUGE project to sell unused Worcestershire public sector buildings has officially kicked off - with a pledge that the public will ultimately benefit.

After months of work the so-called 'Place Partnership' has now launched, a deal between three councils, two police forces and the fire service.

The six taxpayer-funded bodies will aim to merge buildings where possible, selling off unwanted sites with the aim of saving £75 million by 2025.

The deal, which your Worcester News first revealed was on the cards last year, went 'live' last week with around 200 Worcestershire County Council staff transferred into a new limited company to run it.

We can also reveal that the company will be ran by a barrister Andrew Pollard, who has been recruited on a salary topping £100,000, with the aim of overseeing its success.

The staff have moved into the fire service offices off Charles Hastings Way to crack on with drawing up proposals.

Its creation has been welcomed by Councillor Marc Bayliss, County Hall's cabinet member for transformation and commissioning.

The Conservative attended a meeting of the county council's corporate and communities overview and scrutiny panel to take questions on it.

"I think it's a genuinely interesting initiative - people do often talk about things that are 'unique' but I really think this is, in terms of its approach to local government," he said.

"I don't think we should in any way be fearful of it, it's about making sure more money gets to the front line while disposing of buildings we don't necessarily need."

Under the arrangement each authority has announced its own 'shareholders' who will sit on a management committee - and there will also be a yearly Annual General Meeting.

No buildings can be sold without the consent of the authority which owns a particular site, and the money raised from sales will be sunk back into services.

Worcester City Council, Redditch Borough Council and Worcestershire County Council are all part of it, as are Warwickshire and West Mercia Police forces and the fire service.

It follows a previous county council drive which saw 99 pieces of property sold off over three years, raising £33 million for the taxpayer as workers were centralised to four key main sites - the biggest of which is County Hall.

The Place Partnership's bosses have also said no 'crown jewels' will be sold, such as Worcester's Guildhall - neutralising any potential political resistance.