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Based on a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed 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 distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Cases of Planned Disposals

One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.

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

Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains

The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise local levies next April to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.

Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises 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 achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.

He continued: “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 very challenging.”

Countrywide Trends and Projections

Research of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.

The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.

Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.

Deprivation and Funding Gaps

According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.

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

“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the scale of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.

“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said a council leader.

“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”

A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study revealed.