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Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

The group said that a high proportion of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Examples of Proposed Sales

Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.

• Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.

Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Pressures

The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.

He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

National Patterns and Projections

Research of county councils recently also found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.

The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.

Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Funding Gaps

According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.

“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the extent 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 accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said a council leader.

“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”

One in five of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study found.