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Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover 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 finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.

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

Detailed Cases of Planned Sales

Medway Council in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.

• Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.

Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Strains

This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise local levies next April to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

The authority explained it will press ahead 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 some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.

He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Trends and Projections

Research of regional authorities this week also found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.

A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.

Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Funding Gaps

According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.

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

“While only a single urban area is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of challenges confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.

“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.

“Without this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”

A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.