According to a recent survey of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to offload social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK stated 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 faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils seeking to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on restructuring services and using savings to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to increase council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council said it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities recently also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.
