Based on a recent survey of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK reported that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will need to increase council taxes next April to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week also found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
