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According to a new poll of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to offload community centers, athletic facilities, and retail spaces as they rely on a fire sale of assets to balance the books.

Growing Financial Challenges Drive Asset Sales

A coalition of councils representing major urban areas in England reported that six out of ten of councils are intending to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care.

Councils have in the past come under fire for disposing of playing fields and open spaces to support their finances, but they argue they must proceed to generate essential revenue from property disposals or declare themselves bankrupt.

This coalition noted that a significant number of councils attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of holdings marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (six in ten) of municipal officials stated they would prioritise restructuring services and using savings to manage increasing financial challenges.”

Specific Cases of Proposed Sales

One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan featured the sale of a retail complex in a local town and a community venue in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade.

• A local golf course and business parks held in two English counties, which all generate rent for Medway council, will additionally be sold under the plan.

Council Tax Increases and Broader Financial Pressures

The survey of councils in the key cities group, which includes Sunderland, Southampton, Gloucester and Salford, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise council taxes next spring to cover the rising cost of essential services, higher levels of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit.

Medway council explained it will press ahead with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, adult social care, and temporary accommodation.

“We are taking creative strategies but certain measures require time to achieve both improved services and cost efficiency,” stated Vince Maple.

He continued: “There are population challenges which will continue to add to the pressures 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.”

National Trends and Forecasts

A survey of county councils this week further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of young people and older individuals requiring special educational assistance.

The County Councils Network projected that council deficits will hit 4.4 billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, as they struggle to cope with increased demand.

Government officials have delayed planned reforms to the special educational needs framework until the coming year after a white paper outlining those changes was recently delayed.

Disadvantage and Funding Gaps

Based on the latest indices of deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) for UK local authorities, many key cities members were included in the most deprived in the country.

• “Member cities like several major towns place in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” noted the report.

“While only a single urban area is in the ten most deprived for deprived neighbourhoods countrywide, urban areas are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the scale of difficulties facing municipal officials across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added.

“Local government leaders have been clear about the necessity for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and addresses the actual extent of deprivation and need,” said Michael Mordey.

“Without this, local authorities will persist to face impossible choices around which vital provisions to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their residents.”

One in five of councils have cut or compromised care services in the past 12 months, the survey revealed.