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According to a new poll of municipal councils, English councils are planning to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.

Growing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK reported that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition said that a significant number of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and using savings to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Examples of Proposed Disposals

Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.

• A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.

Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures

This research of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.

He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

National Patterns and Projections

A survey of regional authorities this week also found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults needing Send support.

The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.

Government officials have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls

According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.

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

“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.

“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.

“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”

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