According to a new study of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties 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 land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to increase council taxes next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data underscores the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
