Based on a latest survey of local authorities, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will need to increase local levies next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” said a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
