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According to a latest survey of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.

Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Examples of Planned Disposals

Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.

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

Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains

This research of councils in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise council taxes next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases 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 certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.

He added: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

Research of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing Send support.

The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.

Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Funding Gaps

According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in the country.

• “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.

“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.

“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.

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

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