According to a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week also found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the survey revealed.
