Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England stated that 60% of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“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 population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document 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 English councils, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
