Based on a recent poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing 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 come under fire for selling public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to raise money from a quick sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will need to raise local levies next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will press ahead 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 innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
