Based on a latest survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead 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 innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
