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According to a latest study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for 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 come under fire for selling public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

The group noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales

Medway Council in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.

• Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.

Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures

The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.

Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.

“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.

He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring Send support.

The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.

Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls

According to the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for 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 report.

“Although only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures underscores the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.

“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.

“Without this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, 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.