Based on a recent study of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to weather growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise local levies next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures 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 strains 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 Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study found.
