Based on a recent poll of municipal councils, UK councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex 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 owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council said it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “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 deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, 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.
