According to a recent poll of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.
Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and land to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will press ahead with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these require time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities recently also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and adults needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage increased demand.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
According to the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the study revealed.
