Based on a new poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey found.
