Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group said that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises 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 better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the survey found.
