🔗 Share this article

According to a latest survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.

Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”

Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals

One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy included 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 commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.

Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Strains

This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

The authority said 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 temporary accommodation.

“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.

He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”

National Trends and Projections

Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.

A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage increased demand.

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

Deprivation and Financial Gaps

According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.

“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties 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 financial structure that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said a council leader.

“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”

A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study found.