According to a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England reported that 60% 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 come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults requiring special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
