Based on a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in England reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase council taxes next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were among 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,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
