Based on a new survey of local authorities, UK councils are preparing to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for second-tier cities in the UK reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have in the past come under fire for selling public land and land to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.
The group said that a significant number of authorities attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would focus on restructuring services and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”
Detailed Cases of Proposed Disposals
Medway Council in Kent announced its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate £20m over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Rises and Wider Financial Strains
This research of local authorities in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of authorities will need to increase local levies next April to address the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent accommodation deficit.
Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.
He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a 91% cut in our central funding from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”
National Patterns and Projections
A survey of county councils recently further found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing Send support.
The County Councils Network said that local shortfalls will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.
Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the Send system until next year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
According to the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) for English councils, many participating urban areas were among the most deprived in the country.
- “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only a single urban area is in the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the extent of difficulties facing local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the analysis added.
“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and need,” stated Michael Mordey.
“Lacking this, councils 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 reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.
