According to a new study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, 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 representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and land to shore up their finances, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise local levies next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains 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 Patterns and Projections
A survey of regional authorities recently also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the survey found.
