Based on a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities recently further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining 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 among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the scale of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will continue 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 reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
