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Based on a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.

The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”

Detailed Examples of Proposed Disposals

One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town 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 disposed of under the strategy.

Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures

The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.

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

He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

National Patterns and Forecasts

Research of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.

A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.

Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Funding Gaps

According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.

• “Member cities 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 report.

“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.

“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.

“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”

One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study found.