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Based on a recent survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.

Increasing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition said that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”

Specific Examples of Planned Disposals

One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.

Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Strains

This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.

He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Trends and Projections

A survey of county councils this week further found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.

The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.

Government officials have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls

Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.

• “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.

“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report added.

“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.

“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”

One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.