According to a recent study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover 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 finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.
