Based on a recent poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt 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 social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted 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 (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area 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 figures underscores the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
