According to a new poll of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported 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 in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted 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 (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the strains 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.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
Research of county councils this week further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“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 communities.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
