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According to a recent study of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and land to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.

This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals

Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.

• A local golf course and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.

Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Strains

The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” 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 revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Trends and Forecasts

A survey of county councils recently further found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people 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 struggle to cope with rising needs.

Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls

Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.

• “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.

“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the extent of challenges facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.

“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.

“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.