According to a recent survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and land to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group 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 (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Financial Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study revealed.
