Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the study found.
