Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the study found.
