Based on a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores 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 funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the survey found.
