Woking council may face £1bn hit from property investment spree

Woking council has committed about £750m of borrowing to the Victoria Square project, but it’s now thought to be worth closer to £200m. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer

Woking council risks a financial hit worth £1bn amid a government investigation into the local authority’s debt-fuelled investment spree in hotels and skyscrapers.

The Surrey council is on the brink of insolvency, with a possible section 114 notice, signalling it cannot balance its budget, believed to be imminent.