Based on a new poll of municipal councils, UK councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of councils are planning to sell assets to cover 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 finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases 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 require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Projections
A survey of county councils recently also found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures underscores the scale of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the study found.
