Based on a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases 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 deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
