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Based on a latest poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.

Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and land to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.

This coalition 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 majority (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”

Specific Examples of Proposed Sales

Medway Council in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.

• A local golf course and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.

Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains

This research of councils 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 cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.

The authority explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.

He continued: “We face population challenges which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”

National Trends and Forecasts

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

The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.

Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.

Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls

According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the latest IMD measures,” noted the study.

“While only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.

“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.

“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”

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