According to a recent study of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to weather growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns 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.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study revealed.
