According to a new study of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to weather growing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan 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.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently further found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
