According to a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase local levies next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities recently further found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the latest deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
