Based on a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in the UK reported that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would focus on service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of councils will have to increase local levies next April to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the study found.
