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According to a latest survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.

The group noted that a high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”

Specific Examples of Planned Disposals

One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.

Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures

This research of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise council taxes next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.

Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.

He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”

National Trends and Forecasts

A survey of county councils recently also found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults requiring Send support.

The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.

Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Financial Gaps

Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.

“While 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 the nation. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.

“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.

“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”

A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study found.