Based on a new poll of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities seeking to generate funds from a quick sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to weather increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will have to increase council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of homelessness, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
Countrywide Trends and Projections
Research of county councils recently also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils said that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for English councils, many key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the study.
“While only one key city is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of the nation. The data underscores the extent of difficulties facing municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that accounts for and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study found.
