Based on a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England reported that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to weather growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to increase local levies next April to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
