According to a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a significant number of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures 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.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of county councils recently also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
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.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the extent of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
