According to a recent study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data underscores the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
