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Based on a latest poll of local authorities, English councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.

Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

The group noted that a high proportion of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”

Specific Examples of Proposed Sales

One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.

• A local golf course and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.

Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains

The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.

He added: “There are population challenges which will persist 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 Projections

Research of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.

A network of councils said that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.

Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Financial Gaps

According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.

• “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.

“While only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.

“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” 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.”

A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.