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Based on a latest poll of local authorities, UK councils are planning to sell community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of properties to balance the books.

Increasing Fiscal Challenges Drive Asset Sales

The Key Cities Group for second-tier cities in England stated that six out of ten of local authorities are planning to dispose of properties to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.

Local governments have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and land to support their finances, but they contend they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition said that a high proportion of councils attempting to raise money from a quick sale of assets marked “a clear change from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of local leaders stated they would prioritise restructuring services and using financial reserves to weather increasing fiscal pressures.”

Detailed Examples of Planned Sales

One local authority in Kent said its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in Rainham and a community venue in another town to raise £20m over five years.

• Gillingham golf club and business parks owned in Worcestershire and Suffolk, which all provide rental income for the authority, will additionally be sold under the strategy.

Council Tax Increases and Wider Fiscal Strains

This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, also found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to address the rising cost of core provisions, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

Medway council said it will proceed with asset sales after sharp increases in the cost of youth support, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and short-term housing.

“We are adopting innovative approaches but some of these require time to deliver both improved services and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple.

He added: “We face population challenges which will continue to increase the pressures we have. As a local government body, we had a drastic reduction in our revenue support grant from 2010-24, which is very challenging.”

National Trends and Forecasts

Research of regional authorities recently further found local finances being stretched by the increasing figures of children and older individuals requiring Send support.

A network of councils projected that council deficits will hit £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to cope with increased demand.

Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the special educational needs framework until next year after a white paper outlining those reforms was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Funding Gaps

According to the most recent deprivation measures (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) covering English councils, many participating urban areas were included in the most deprived in England.

• “Participating urban centers like Hull, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Wolverhampton place in the most deprived 30 across the country under the latest IMD measures,” said the study.

“While only one key city is among the top 10 for deprived neighbourhoods nationally, urban areas are much more prone to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The figures underscores the scale of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the coming year,” the report concluded.

“Council officials have been clear about the need for a equitable and lasting financial structure that accounts for and addresses the real levels of disadvantage and demand,” stated a council leader.

“Without this, councils will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”

A fifth of local authorities have reduced or weakened care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.