Based on a new study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England reported that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to support their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group said that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals 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 creative strategies but certain measures take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
