Based on a latest poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and land to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise local levies next spring to address the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week also found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
