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Based on a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.

Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.

The group noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”

Detailed Cases of Planned Disposals

One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.

• Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.

Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains

The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase local levies next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.

He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

Research of county councils this week also found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.

A network of councils said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.

Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.

Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls

According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) 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 rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the latest IMD measures,” said the study.

“Although only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.

“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.

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

One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.