Based on a new study of local authorities, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties 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 budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, several key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
