Based on a new poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of regional authorities recently also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, several key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study found.
