Based on a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling public land and land to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is among 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 major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.
