Based on a latest study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While 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 extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
