Based on a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue 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 the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are 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 over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Projections
A survey of county councils recently further found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the survey found.
