According to a latest survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will continue 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 extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of county councils recently also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
