According to a recent study of local authorities, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy included the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next April to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
The authority said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures 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 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data highlights the extent of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the study found.
