Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in England reported that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and using savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
