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 assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to raise money from a quick sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Planned Sales
One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Strains
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will need to raise council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of essential services, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises 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 better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He added: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of children and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“Although only a single urban area is in the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
