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According to a new survey of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.

Growing Fiscal Pressures Prompt Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing second-tier cities in the UK stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and land to support their finances, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from asset sales or face insolvency.

This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders said they would focus on service redesigns and utilising savings to manage growing financial challenges.”

Detailed Examples of Planned Sales

One local authority in southeast England said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in another town to raise 20 million pounds over five years.

• A local golf course and commercial properties owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.

Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Pressures

This research of councils in the coalition, which includes several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to raise council taxes next April to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.

Medway council explained it will press ahead with asset sales after sharp increases 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 deliver both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.

He continued: “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 central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts

A survey of county councils this week also found council budgets being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.

The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to manage increased demand.

Government officials have put off planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper setting out those reforms was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Financial Shortfalls

Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering UK local authorities, several key cities members were among the most deprived in England.

• “Member cities like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the latest deprivation indices,” noted the report.

“Although only one key city is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data underscores the extent of challenges facing municipal officials across key cities 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 addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” said a council leader.

“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which essential services to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”

One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the survey revealed.