Based on a new study of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities recently also found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities 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 need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the study found.
