Based on a new study of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported 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 in the past come under fire for selling public land and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
The group said that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to increase council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of regional authorities recently also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of young people and adults requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering English councils, several key cities members were included in the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data underscores the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” stated a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey found.
