Based on a recent survey of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.
Increasing Financial Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are intending to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must proceed to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Specific Cases of Planned Disposals
One local authority in southeast England announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks held in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Financial Strains
The survey of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of councils will need to raise local levies next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking innovative approaches but some of these take time to achieve both better provisions and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
National Patterns and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week also found council budgets being stretched by the growing number of children and adults requiring special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that council deficits 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 special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Financial Shortfalls
According to the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most disadvantaged in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures highlights the scale of difficulties facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and addresses the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will continue to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the study revealed.
