According to a new poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Planned Disposals
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 £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains
The survey 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 cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged 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 study.
“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
