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Based on a new study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.

This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to manage growing financial challenges.”

Specific Examples of Planned Sales

Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.

• A local golf course and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.

Local Levy 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 councils will need to increase local levies next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.

“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.

He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

National Patterns and Forecasts

A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.

A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.

Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.

Deprivation and Funding Gaps

According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.

• “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 across the country under the latest deprivation indices,” noted the study.

“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.

“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.

“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, 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 study found.