Based on a new study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England stated 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.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester 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 Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures underscores the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” said a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
