Based on a new study of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to balance the books.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group for major urban areas in England reported that 60% of councils are intending to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings marked “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and using financial reserves to weather growing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Planned Disposals
One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for Medway council, will also be disposed of under the plan.
Local Levy Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will need to raise council taxes next spring to address the rising cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of county councils recently further found local finances being stretched by the growing number of children and older individuals requiring Send support.
A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.
Ministers have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a policy document outlining those changes was recently delayed.
Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls
Based on the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, many key cities members were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the study.
“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 data underscores the scale of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable financial structure that accounts for and responds to the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.
