According to a new survey of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that 60% of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and land to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
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 Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Government officials have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“Although only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
