Based on a new study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past come under fire for selling public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a significant number of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to weather growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next April to address the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
