According to a new study of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data underscores the extent of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study found.
