According to a new poll of municipal councils, UK councils are preparing to sell social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten 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 selling public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group said that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the strains 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.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities recently also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the study revealed.
