Based on a new study of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Financial 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 increase council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.
