According to a new poll of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Financial Pressures
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase local levies next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Projections
A survey of regional authorities recently further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
