Bradford Council could bring in an outside partner to manage its £1 billion portfolio of land and property.

A review of existing management methods within the Council will be carried out by a specialist team of officers, working with consultants Deloitte and Touche.

Options are likely to include the radical step of bringing in the partner in a procedure similar to one used when the authority brought in a private company to run the district's schools.

The Council's huge portfolio includes golf courses, farms, shops, offices and houses which are being put on a register for the first time.

It is also believed to be the only authority in Britain to own a pub - the famous Woolpack in Esholt village which attracts thousands of tourists because of its former Emmerdale connections.

Chief executive Ian Stewart said other authorities were amazed at properties owned by Bradford Council but some of the assets were in poor condition and not bringing in the right returns.

And a Council best value team recommended the authority consider options, including an outside partner, when it reviewed the land and property service last year.

Mr Stewart has stressed that Council staff are not to blame, but the assets have not been managed in the right way in the past.

And Councillor Simon Cooke, Executive Member for Regeneration, said: "The Council is responsible for hundreds of buildings and plots of land. The review aims to find out the best way of managing these assets to deliver best value."

The review will involve consultations with partners providing services, contractors, staff and trade unions.

Council leader Margaret Eaton, pictured outside the famous pub, said the project was an important part of the Council's modernisation programme. She added: "We will look at every option which comes up, both internal and external. We need to consider the way ahead in detail."

A website - www.bradford.gov.uk/amp - is being set up by the Council to give the aims of the project and membership of the steering group. An assessment of all the options will go to the executive committee later this year.