According to a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will need to raise council taxes next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
