According to a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Planned Sales
Medway Council in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise local levies next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Projections
A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
