According to a recent survey of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
