According to a recent study of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England stated that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the escalating costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to support 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 raise money from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather growing financial challenges.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will also be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Financial Pressures
The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to raise council taxes next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
Medway council said 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 adopting creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
A survey of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the growing number of children and adults needing special educational assistance.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, several key cities members were included in the most deprived in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The data underscores the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will continue to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
