According to a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise local levies next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council said it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities recently also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several 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 latest IMD measures,” noted the report.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey found.
