According to a recent study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in England reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures 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 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking 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 communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study revealed.
