A secret list has been drawn up of Bradford Council office buildings which could be sold off to save millions of pounds.

The authority wants to slash its office space by a fifth under the terms of a new estate strategy.

It means some of the Council’s larger premises, such as Jacob’s Well, Britannia House or Olicana House, which together house hundreds of staff, could be sold.

As well as raising a predicted £3.5 million from the sales, the Council said the strategy would also achieve knock-on savings of more than £400,000 in running costs and would avoid an outstanding repairs and maintenance bill of £4 million.

The proposals are part of a wider Council scheme to absorb a net reduction of £67.5m over the next two years in cuts enforced by the coalition Government.

As many as 2,000 Council jobs will go and negotiations with trade unions are ongoing after all staff were issued with a letter warning them their position was at risk of redundancy before Christmas.

Part of those discussions are new flexible working arrangements to accommodate staff in a reduced number of offices.

Councillor Dave Green, the Council’s executive member for regeneration and economy, said: “If the first phase proposals are agreed, detailed plans will be prepared to take them forward. At each stage of the process there will be full consultation with everyone affected by the strategy.

“The Council has offices spread all over the district. Some are very small, almost satellite offices and some are clearly bigger offices where there are several hundred staff. Before we can progress some of the bigger office spaces we need to identify somewhere for the staff to go to.

“Work is ongoing to identify property efficiencies to achieve value for money for Bradford Council Tax payers.”

He said the strategy also looks at where the Council can move staff out of rented properties and added the proposals would also cut the Council’s carbon footprint by 25 per cent.

Liberal Democrat councillor Howard Middleton, who has been involved in drawing up the strategy, said: “We have acquired buildings over the last hundred years. What we want are buildings that are fit for the 21st century and we are in the middle of some big capital building projects that we are going to have to find funding for, such as new care homes for dementia sufferers and two new special schools.

“Some buildings maybe aren’t going to be needed in the process of having to align the buildings we have got with the people we have got working for the Council and the functions we provide, and if we need to reduce office space by 20 per cent we are talking about this involving some of the bigger buildings.

“This strategy is where we have to be.”

Coun Anne Hawkesworth, leader of the Council’s Conservative group, said: “It’s sensible that when the Council is looking to increase its efficiency and reduce any unnecessary spending, all costs including those for office accommodation are scrutinised.

“The anticipated reductions in council staffing levels are likely to result in less office space being required and there may already be small surpluses spread across departments which have occurred gradually over time and which could be responded to in a strategic manner.

“When you consider that the cost of outstanding repairs and maintenance for the properties is more than their actual value, disposal of them seems appropriate though I must question whether 2011 will be the year to maximise the return on any property being sold.

“That said, the saving of annual running costs of £400,000 is another significant factor to take into consideration and the reduction in our carbon footprint is also an important bonus.

“These are judgements that the Council will have to make and I hope that on behalf of local taxpayers they take the right decisions.”

The estates strategy will be considered by members of the executive at a meeting on Friday, February 11, after it has been debated by the regeneration and economy overview and scrutiny committee.