According to a latest study of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to weather growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise council taxes next April to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to increase the strains 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.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data underscores the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and responds to the real levels of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the study revealed.
