According to a new survey of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
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 (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities recently further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the study found.
