According to a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Pressures
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils this week further found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only a single urban area is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.
