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Based on a recent poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.

Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.

This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Examples of Planned Sales

One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.

• Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.

Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures

This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.

He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Patterns and Projections

Research of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.

A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.

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 (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in the country.

• “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.

“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the extent of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.

“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.

“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.