According to a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England reported that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study found.
