Based on a latest survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England said its property management strategy included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will need to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, 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,” 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 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study found.
