According to a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of councils are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils seeking to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would focus on restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise local levies next April to address the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
