Based on a new study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise council taxes next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults 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 increased demand.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, 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.
