According to a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority said it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the survey found.
