Based on a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and land to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to increase council taxes next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the growing number 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 struggle to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several key cities members 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 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“Although only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the scale of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report 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 demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
