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According to a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have in the past come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.

The group said that a significant number of authorities seeking to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to weather growing financial challenges.”

Detailed Examples of Planned Sales

One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.

• Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.

Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Pressures

The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.

He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

National Patterns and Projections

Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.

The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.

Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls

Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in England.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.

“Although only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.

“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.

“Lacking 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 cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.