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

Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.

Councils have previously faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.

This coalition noted that a significant number of councils seeking 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 prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to manage growing financial challenges.”

Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals

Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy.

Local Levy Rises and Broader Financial Pressures

This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will need to increase council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.

“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.

He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

A survey of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults needing Send support.

A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.

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

Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls

Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, many key cities members were included in the most deprived 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 IMD measures,” noted the report.

“While only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the scale of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis concluded.

“Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.

“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”

One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.