Based on a new study of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to raise money from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would focus on restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent said its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
Research of regional authorities recently further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the extent of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
