According to a latest study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue 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 fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, 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 most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.
