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According to a latest study of local authorities, UK councils are planning to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a rapid disposal of assets to balance the books.

Increasing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in the UK reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to dispose of properties to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have previously faced criticism for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their budgets, but they argue they must continue to generate essential revenue from property disposals or face insolvency.

The group noted that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets represented “a distinct shift from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to weather growing fiscal pressures.”

Specific Examples of Proposed Sales

One local authority in Kent announced its property management strategy featured the disposal of a shopping centre in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over five years.

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

Local Levy Increases and Broader Financial Pressures

This research of councils in the coalition, which covers several urban centers, also found that over seven in ten of authorities will have to increase local levies next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, higher levels of housing insecurity, and a persistent housing shortage.

Medway council explained it will proceed with asset sales after steep rises in the cost of youth support, special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are adopting creative strategies but certain measures take time to deliver both improved services and cost efficiency,” said a council leader.

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

Countrywide Patterns and Projections

Research of county councils recently also found council budgets being stretched by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals needing Send support.

The County Councils Network projected that local shortfalls will reach 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they grapple to manage rising needs.

Government officials have put off planned reforms to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document setting out those changes was recently delayed.

Deprivation and Funding Shortfalls

According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) 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,” said the study.

“Although only one key city is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, cities are much more prone to be in the worst-off 20% of England. The figures 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 equitable and lasting financial structure that reflects and responds to the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.

“Without this, councils will continue to face difficult decisions around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to reduce, to the detriment of their residents.”

One in five of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.