🔗 Share this article

Based on a new poll of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have previously faced criticism for selling public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.

This coalition noted that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to weather growing financial challenges.”

Specific Examples of Planned Sales

One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.

• Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.

Council Tax Rises and Broader Financial Pressures

This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise local levies next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, 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 children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.

“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.

He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

Research of regional authorities recently further found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.

The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.

Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Financial Gaps

According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in England.

• “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the report.

“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.

“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.

“Lacking this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the survey found.