Based on a latest survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling public land and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
Medway Council in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise council taxes next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils this week further 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 council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, 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 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study revealed.
