Based on a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism 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.
This coalition said that a significant number of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise local levies next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, 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 financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, several key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, 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 coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
