Based on a latest study of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in southeast England said its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of councils will need to raise council taxes next April to cover the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Projections
A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
