Based on a latest survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and land to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group said that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise council taxes next April to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis 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 disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
