Based on a latest study of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell social clubs, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously come under fire for disposing of public land and open spaces to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England said its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase council taxes next spring to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions 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 study found.
