Based on a recent study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of councils are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted 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 (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise local levies next April to cover the growing 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 children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of children and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the extent of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated 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 disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
