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Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.

This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking 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 focus on service redesigns and using savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”

Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals

Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.

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

Council Tax Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures

This research of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to increase local levies next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.

The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.

He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Trends and Forecasts

A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.

A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.

Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls

According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.

• “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.

“While only a single urban area 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 data underscores the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.

“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.

“Without 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 councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study found.