Based on a new poll of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to sell community centers, sports centres, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances.
Increasing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils 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 faced criticism for selling playing fields and land to shore up their budgets, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group said that a high proportion of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would prioritise restructuring services and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.”
Specific Examples of Proposed Sales
One local authority in southeast England announced its property management strategy featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in another town to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be sold under the plan.
Council Tax Rises and Broader Fiscal Pressures
The survey of councils in the coalition, which covers Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to address the growing cost of core provisions, increased rates of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.
The authority explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing.
“We are adopting creative strategies but some of these take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said Vince Maple.
He continued: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Trends and Forecasts
Research of county councils recently further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and adults needing Send support.
A network of councils said that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with rising needs.
Ministers have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms has been postponed.
Deprivation and Funding Gaps
Based on the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for UK local authorities, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Member cities like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 across the country under the 2025 IMD measures,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, urban areas are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The figures underscores the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across key cities in the coming year,” the analysis concluded.
“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and demand,” said a council leader.
“Without this, councils will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to fund, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”
One in five of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the last year, the survey revealed.
