According to a recent survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would focus on restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise local levies next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained 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 short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“Although only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the extent of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
