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Based on a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.

Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

The group noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals

Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy featured the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.

• Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.

Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures

The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise local levies next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.

Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.

He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

National Patterns and Projections

Research of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and older individuals needing special educational assistance.

The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage increased demand.

Government officials have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper setting out those changes has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Funding Gaps

According to the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were included in the most deprived in the country.

• “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.

“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.

“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.

“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

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