According to a new study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a significant number of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise local levies next April to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently further found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“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 need,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
