According to a new survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and land to shore up their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town 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 Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will press ahead with asset sales 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 adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering 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 latest deprivation indices,” said the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the survey revealed.
