Based on a latest study of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England said its property management strategy included the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will need to increase local levies next spring to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults needing Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data highlights the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
