Based on a latest study of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in another town to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase council taxes next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, 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 temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
