Based on a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England 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.
Councils have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will need to increase council taxes next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.
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 cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report 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,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
