According to a recent survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of councils are planning to sell assets to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group said that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will have to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils recently further found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework 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 (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage 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 disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
