According to a new study of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive 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 dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained 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 temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, several key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 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 the nation. The data underscores the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services 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 last year, the survey revealed.
