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Based on a recent survey of local authorities, English councils are preparing to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.

Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.

This coalition noted that a high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Examples of Planned Sales

One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.

• A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.

Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures

The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.

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 improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.

He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults needing special educational assistance.

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

Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Financial Gaps

According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.

“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.

“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.

“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”

One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.