Based on a new 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 assets to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK stated that 60% of councils are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past 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 face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to weather growing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Sales
Medway Council in Kent said its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Pressures
This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase council taxes next April to cover the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council said it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Gaps
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” said the study.
“While only a single urban area is among the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of challenges confronting municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that reflects and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened social care provision in the last year, the survey found.
