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According to a recent study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales

One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in another town to generate £20m over five years.

• Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.

Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures

The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.

Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.

He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

A survey of regional authorities recently further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults requiring Send support.

The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.

Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.

Deprivation and Funding 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.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.

“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.

“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.

“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”

One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the survey found.