Based on a new poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group said that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, many key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the latest deprivation indices,” said the study.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the survey found.
