According to a latest study of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed 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 represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue 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 very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While 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 worst-off 20% 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.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
