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Based on a recent study of local authorities, English councils are planning to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.

Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have previously come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals

One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.

• Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.

Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains

The survey of councils in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise local levies next April to cover the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.

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

“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.

He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

A survey of county councils this week further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults needing Send support.

The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.

Government officials have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Financial Gaps

Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived 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 one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.

“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.

“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

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