Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past come under fire for selling public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
