According to a recent study of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they bet on a fire sale of assets to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales
The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in the UK reported that 60% of local authorities are planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.
Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders stated they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to manage growing financial challenges.”
Detailed Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate £20m over five years.
- A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all provide rental income for the authority, will also be sold under the plan.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that more than 70% of authorities will have to raise local levies next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a longstanding housing shortage.
The authority explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are taking creative strategies but some of these require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated a council leader.
He added: “There are demographic pressures which will persist to add to the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.”
National Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils this week also found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Government officials have delayed scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the latest indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“Although only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures highlights the scale of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and demand,” said Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”
A fifth of councils have cut or compromised care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
