According to a latest study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise local levies next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the study found.
