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According to a latest poll of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”

Detailed Cases of Planned Disposals

One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.

• A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.

Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Pressures

The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.

He continued: “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 central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Trends and Forecasts

Research of county councils recently also found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.

A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.

Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Funding Gaps

According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the latest deprivation indices,” noted the study.

“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers 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 addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.

“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.