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According to a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.

Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten 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 come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue 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 quick sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”

Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales

Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.

Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains

This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise council taxes next April to address the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.

He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Trends and Projections

Research of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of children and adults needing special educational assistance.

A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.

Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.

Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls

According to the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.

• “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.

“Although only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.

“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.

“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.