According to a latest survey of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged 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.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the extent of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without 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 communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.
