According to a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities 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 steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the survey found.
