According to a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will need to increase local levies next April to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures 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 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Projections
Research of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper setting out those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
