Based on a recent study of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in the UK stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and land to shore up their finances, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to increase council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data underscores the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
