According to a recent poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated 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 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
