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Based on a new poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.

The group noted that a high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Examples of Planned Disposals

One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.

Local Levy Rises and Wider Financial Strains

This research of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase local levies next April to address the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases 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 some of these take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.

He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

Research of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.

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

Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls

Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in the country.

• “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the latest deprivation indices,” said the report.

“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.

“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said a council leader.

“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the survey found.