🔗 Share this article English Councils Plan to Sell Off Community Hubs and Leisure Facilities to Manage Finances Based on a new poll of municipal councils, UK councils are planning to offload community centers, sports centres, and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of properties to stabilize finances. Increasing Financial Challenges Prompt Asset Sales The Key Cities Group representing second-tier cities in the UK reported that six out of ten of councils are planning to sell assets to cover the rising costs of adult and children’s social care. Councils have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and open spaces to shore up their finances, but they argue they must continue to raise vital cash from property disposals or face insolvency. This coalition said that a high proportion of authorities attempting to generate funds from a fire sale of assets represented “a clear change from 2024, when the largest share (60%) of local leaders stated they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising savings to manage increasing fiscal pressures.” Specific Cases of Planned Disposals One local authority in Kent announced its asset disposal plan included the disposal of a retail complex in a local town and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over the next half-decade. A local golf course and business parks owned in two English counties, which all generate rent for the authority, will additionally be disposed of under the strategy. Local Levy Increases and Broader Fiscal Strains This research of councils in the key cities group, which covers several urban centers, further found that more than 70% of councils will have to raise local levies next spring to address the growing cost of essential services, increased rates of homelessness, and a longstanding accommodation deficit. The authority explained it will proceed with property disposals after sharp increases in the cost of children services, support for vulnerable learners, elderly and disability services, and short-term housing. “We are adopting innovative approaches but certain measures require time to deliver both better provisions and financial savings,” stated Vince Maple. He continued: “There are population challenges which will persist to increase the strains we have. As a unitary authority, we had a drastic reduction in our central funding from 2010-24, which is extremely difficult.” National Patterns and Projections A survey of regional authorities this week further found local finances being strained by the increasing figures of children and older individuals needing Send support. A network of councils projected that council deficits will reach £4.4bn a year by 2029, as they grapple to manage rising needs. Government officials have put off scheduled changes to the Send system until the coming year after a policy document outlining those changes has been postponed. Disadvantage and Funding Gaps According to the latest deprivation measures (IMD) for English councils, several participating urban areas were among the most disadvantaged in England. “Participating urban centers like several major towns rank in the most deprived 30 nationally under the 2025 deprivation indices,” said the report. “While only one key city is in the ten most deprived for disadvantaged communities countrywide, cities are far more likely to be in the most deprived fifth of England. The data highlights the extent of challenges confronting local leaders across major urban centers in the next twelve months,” the report added. “Local government leaders have been clear about the need for a fair and sustainable funding system that accounts for and responds to the actual extent of disadvantage and need,” stated Michael Mordey. “Without this, local authorities will persist to face difficult decisions around which essential services to allocate spend to, and which to cut, to the detriment of their communities.” A fifth of local authorities have cut or compromised social care provision in the last year, the study found.