Based on a latest study of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.
