According to a new poll 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 Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group said that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders said they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the extent of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, 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.
