According to a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK 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 faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy included the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue 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 extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were among 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 study.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.
