According to a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England stated that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise local levies next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the latest IMD measures,” said the report.
“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 most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
