Based on a recent study of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Financial Challenges 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 cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and land to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to raise money from a quick sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to address the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals 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 require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the study found.
