Oxford City Council has admitted failing to manage its multi-million pound property portfolio as effectively as possible.

A copy of the council’s full property portfolio, which has been obtained by the Oxford Mail, reveals the council owns 575 properties, worth £193m – many of them in Oxford’s historic city centre.

Some have been standing empty for 10 years or more, council officials have admitted.

The list of council-owned property includes much of Broad Street, St Michael’s Street, the Covered Market, George Street, much of the High Street, Queen Street, Ship Street, Carfax, Cornmarket Street and Turl Street.

It also owns shops and other property in Cowley Road, Gloucester Green and all of Cave Street, along with Blackbird Leys and most of Sandy Lane, Atkyns Road and Barns Road.

It owns the freehold of pubs including the Bear, in Alfred Street and the Bullnose Morris, in Watlington Road, and restaurants including Jamie’s, in George Street, along with the New Theatre.

The figures relate only to “investment properties” and not the 8,000 houses also owned by the authority. Altogether its annual return on its property investments is £6.59m a year, according to its accounts for 2010-11.

But some buildings have been left empty and decaying for more than a decade – including the Grade II* listed Vanbrugh House in St Michael’s Street and the neighbouring vicarage, which the council’s planning statement describes as “deteriorating”.

The buildings are set to find a new role as a hotel.

In a statement, the council said: “It was not the economic downturn, but a realisation that the portfolio was not being used to the optimum that resulted in the new approach to asset management in the council.”

The total number of properties left empty is unknown but the business rates payable by the council this year on such buildings amounts to £25,515.

Lord Mayor Elise Benjamin said: “This huge property portfolio does give the council an unusual amount of power. It means it has the power to shape the city centre to a much greater extent than is the case in most cities.”

Graham Jones, chairman of the city traders’ organisation Rox – Promoting Oxford Business, said: “I think the situation is very unusual here, in that the council owns so much of the city centre.

“It has to generate good returns, which of course we all understand if we want good services and low council taxes, but at the same time it’s the planning authority too.”

Council leader Bob Price said: “The good thing about owning such a large property portfolio is that it produces another income stream, other than council tax and charges such as parking.

“The downside is that it is taken into account when determining what sort of central government grant we can expect.

“But it does mean much of the power is in our own hands, which is a significant advantage.”