According to a latest survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy featured the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned 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
This research of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.
