Based on a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and land to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise council taxes next April to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority said it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing 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 struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“Although only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the study revealed.
