According to a new poll of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are demographic pressures 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 over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of regional authorities this week further found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.
“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures highlights the extent of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
