According to a latest survey of municipal councils, 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.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past come under fire for selling public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise local levies next April to cover the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.
