According to a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and land to support their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils 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 restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise council taxes next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face population challenges 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.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures underscores the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study found.
