Based on a latest survey of local authorities, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of public land 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 raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of councils will have to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
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 rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
