According to a recent study of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously faced criticism for selling public land and land to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and using savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- 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.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures
This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed 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 taking innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study found.
