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According to a recent survey of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.

Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that 60% of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling public land and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.

The group noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Examples of Planned Disposals

Medway Council in southeast England said its property management strategy featured the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.

• Gillingham golf club 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 Fiscal Strains

This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.

“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.

He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Trends and Forecasts

Research of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and adults needing Send support.

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

Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.

Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls

Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.

“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.

“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated a council leader.

“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”

One in five of councils have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the survey found.