Based on a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in the UK reported that 60% of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of councils seeking to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
