According to a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase council taxes next spring 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 sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of regional authorities recently also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the survey found.
