According to a new poll of municipal councils, UK councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of social services for vulnerable individuals.
Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and land to support their budgets, but they contend they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of municipal officials said they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Cases of Proposed Disposals
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks 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 Financial Strains
This research of local authorities in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to raise council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after steep rises in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and financial savings,” said a council leader.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
A survey of regional authorities this week also found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing Send support.
A network of councils projected that local shortfalls will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Funding Shortfalls
According to the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“While only one key city is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the extent of difficulties confronting municipal officials across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report added.
“Council officials have been explicit about the necessity for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and need,” said a council leader.
“Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the study revealed.
