According to a latest poll of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” said a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.
