According to a new study of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase local levies next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.
“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the survey found.
