According to a new study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise council taxes next spring to address the rising 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, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist 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.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
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 among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
