Based on a new survey of local authorities, English councils are planning to sell community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they rely on a rapid disposal of properties to stabilize finances.
Growing Fiscal Pressures Drive Asset Sales
A coalition of councils for major urban areas in the UK stated that 60% of councils are intending to sell assets to meet the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.
Councils have previously faced criticism for selling public land and open spaces to support their finances, but they contend they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.
The group noted that a high proportion of councils seeking to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of municipal officials stated they would focus on 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 included the sale of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to generate 20 million pounds over five years.
- Gillingham golf club and commercial properties held in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the strategy.
Local Levy Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains
The survey of councils in the coalition, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, also found that over seven in ten of councils will have to increase council taxes next spring to cover the growing cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.
Medway council said it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, elderly and disability services, and temporary accommodation.
“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both better provisions and cost efficiency,” stated a council leader.
He added: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”
Countrywide Patterns and Forecasts
Research of regional authorities recently also found council budgets being strained by the growing number of young people and older individuals needing special educational assistance.
The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by 2029, as they struggle to manage increased demand.
Ministers have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those reforms was recently delayed.
Disadvantage and Financial Gaps
Based on the most recent indices of deprivation (IMD) covering UK local authorities, several participating urban areas were among the most deprived in England.
- “Member cities like several major towns place in the top 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.
“While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities nationally, cities are far more likely to be in the worst-off 20% of the nation. The data underscores the extent of difficulties confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the analysis added.
“Council officials have been clear about the necessity for a equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and responds to the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said a council leader.
“Lacking this, councils will continue 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 local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the study revealed.