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According to a new study of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and shopping arcades as they bet on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to cover the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have in the past faced criticism for disposing of public land and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or face insolvency.

The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of holdings represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (six in ten) of local leaders said they would focus on service redesigns and using savings to manage growing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Examples of Planned Disposals

Medway Council 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 20 million pounds over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and commercial properties held in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will also be disposed of under the plan.

Council Tax Rises and Broader Financial Strains

The survey of local authorities in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to increase council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a persistent housing shortage.

The authority explained it will press ahead with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures take time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” said a council leader.

He continued: “There are demographic pressures which will continue to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a 91% cut in our revenue support grant from over the past decade, which is extremely difficult.”

National Patterns and Forecasts

Research of regional authorities recently also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and adults needing Send support.

A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs.

Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes has been postponed.

Deprivation and Financial Gaps

Based on the latest deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton rank in the top 30 nationally under the latest IMD measures,” noted the report.

“While only a single urban area is among the top 10 for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data underscores the scale of challenges facing local leaders across key cities in the next twelve months,” the report concluded.

“Local government leaders have been explicit about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that reflects and addresses the real levels of deprivation and demand,” stated Michael Mordey.

“Lacking this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the disadvantage of their residents.”

One in five of councils have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the study found.