Based on a new study 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 for second-tier cities in England reported that 60% of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m 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 additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities recently further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.
