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Based on a new study of municipal councils, English councils are preparing to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals

Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.

• Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.

Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains

This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.

The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

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

He added: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults requiring special educational assistance.

A network of councils said that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.

Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Funding Gaps

Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, several key cities members were among the most deprived in England.

• “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.

“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.

“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.

“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.