Based on a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, 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 taking creative strategies but certain measures take time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only one key city 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 challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
