According to a latest study of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue 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 generate funds from a fire sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to generate £20m 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 strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of councils will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals 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 taking creative strategies but certain measures take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data underscores the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices 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 past 12 months, the study found.
