Based on a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only one key city 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 figures highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
