According to a new survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently also found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” 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 disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
