🔗 Share this article English Councils Intend to Sell Off Social Clubs and Sports Centres to Balance Books Based on a new study of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books. Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care. Local governments have previously faced criticism for selling public land and land to shore up their finances, but they argue they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency. The group noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.” Detailed Cases of Planned Sales Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over the next half-decade. Gillingham golf club and business parks held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy. Council Tax Rises and Wider Fiscal Strains The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise local levies next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage. The authority explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing. “We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said 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 revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.” Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts A survey of county councils this week further found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of children and adults needing special educational assistance. The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with rising needs. Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed. Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering 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 across the country under the latest IMD measures,” noted the report. “Although only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers 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 addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey. “Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.” One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey found.