According to a latest survey of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
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 majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to weather growing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex 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 Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase local levies next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority 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 adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study found.
