Based on a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to increase council taxes next April to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
