Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise local levies next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
