Based on a new survey of local authorities, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase council taxes next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals 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 innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils this week also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“Although only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
