According to a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land 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 high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise 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 plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
