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According to a new survey of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.

Growing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, 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 authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of municipal officials stated they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Examples of Planned Sales

Medway Council in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a social club in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.

• A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.

Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures

This research of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to increase council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.

He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase 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 Projections

Research of regional authorities recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults needing special educational assistance.

The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.

Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls

According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most disadvantaged in England.

• “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.

“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.

“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” said a council leader.

“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”

One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study found.