Based on a recent poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent 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.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of regional authorities recently also found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, several 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,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials 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 responds to the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study revealed.
