According to a recent survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to 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 Patterns and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, 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 study revealed.
