According to a recent survey of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the survey revealed.
