Based on a recent study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
