According to a new poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England stated that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise local levies next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Projections
Research of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
