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According to a new survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK stated that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments 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 declare themselves bankrupt.

The group noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”

Detailed Cases of Proposed Sales

Medway Council in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.

Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures

This research of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to increase local levies next April to cover the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.

Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.

He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”

National Trends and Projections

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

The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.

Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Financial Gaps

Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.

• “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.

“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.

“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.

“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”

A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.