Based on a recent study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a significant number of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Strains
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study found.
