According to a latest study of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in the UK reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously faced criticism for selling public land and land to shore up their budgets, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals
Medway Council in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which includes several urban centers, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase council taxes next April to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking innovative approaches but certain measures take time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face demographic pressures which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Projections
Research of regional authorities this week also found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage rising needs.
Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
Based on the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like several major towns rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report.
“Although only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data underscores the extent of challenges facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their communities.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
