Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase local levies next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
