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According to a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.

Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition said that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Cases of Proposed Sales

Medway Council in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.

Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains

The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase local levies next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.

Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.

“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.

He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Trends and Projections

Research of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults requiring Send support.

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

Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Funding Gaps

Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in the country.

• “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 report.

“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.

“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey.

“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.