Based on a recent poll of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise local levies next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the survey found.
