Woking Borough Council has a total debt of £1.9bn, which is likely to increase to almost £2.4bn by 2024/25, after investing in commercial property.

Described by Lee Rowley, the junior levelling up minister, as the ‘most indebted council in England’ compared to its financial size, the council now risks effective insolvency.

With a net budget of £24m and core spending power of £14m, the council invested in a shopping centre, residential tower blocks and a 23-storey Hilton hotel.

Rowley’s statement said the council faced ‘the most challenging financial position of any local authority in England’, and that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities had increasing concerns about the size of the debt – which stands at 100 times the council’s annual net income.

In Marc