Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase council taxes next April to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will press ahead 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 adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, many key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.
