According to a new poll of local authorities, 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 Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England stated that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and land to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils this week also found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle 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 changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data underscores the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of deprivation and need,” said a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face impossible choices 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 reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study found.
