Based on a new survey of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Fiscal Strains
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase council taxes next April to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He added: “We face 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 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until next year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the extent of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” said a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study revealed.
