Based on a latest survey of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK 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 selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to 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 Forecasts
Research of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the survey found.
