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Based on a latest survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.

Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

The group noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather growing financial challenges.”

Specific Examples of Proposed Disposals

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 Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.

• Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.

Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Strains

This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.

He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Trends and Forecasts

A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults requiring Send support.

The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple 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 reforms has been postponed.

Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls

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

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.

“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.

“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.

“Without this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”

A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the survey found.