Based on a latest survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed 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 innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Projections
A survey of county councils recently also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
