Based on a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
