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Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.

Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to weather growing financial challenges.”

Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales

One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over five years.

• A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.

Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Strains

This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase council taxes next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.

The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, 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 Vince Maple.

He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Trends and Forecasts

Research of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.

The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.

Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Financial Gaps

Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.

• “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the top 30 across the country under the latest deprivation indices,” noted the study.

“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.

“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” said a council leader.

“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the survey found.