According to a new poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England reported that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy included 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 provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise local levies next spring to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
