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According to a new poll of local authorities, UK councils are planning to offload social clubs, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.

The group noted that a significant number of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on restructuring services and utilising savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Cases of Planned Sales

One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.

• A local golf course and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.

Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Pressures

This research of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.

He continued: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

Research of county councils recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing 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 increased demand.

Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Funding Gaps

Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.

“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.

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

“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which essential services to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”

One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.