Agenda item

For Members to understand the council’s Overall Property Strategy and to receive an overview of Council Access Points, their customer usage and plans to utilise council property for other purposes.

Contributors:

Councillor John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources, Property and Assets

John Reed, Service Director for Property and Assets

Lloyd Jeffries, Service Director for Business Operations

Papers:

Overall Property Strategy Presentation

Confidential appendices

The Committee received a report on the Overall Property Strategy which was presented by Councillor J Chilver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources, Property and Assets. The report also provided an overview of Council Access Points, customer usage and plans to utilize Council Property. The following key points were highlighted by the Cabinet Member:

·       The Strategic Asset Management Plan would be refreshed by the end of Q2 2022. The Plan would be an amalgamation of various strategies, policies and plans. An Agricultural Estate Management Plan would be promoted over the same period.

·       The Council’s property portfolio comprised of multiple areas including operational, community, highways, agricultural estate, investment portfolio & development opportunities and regeneration opportunities. The Council also owned/partly owned property companies: Conseil, Aylesbury Vale Estates and Buckinghamshire Advantage.

·       The estate was valued at £1.978b across over 1,700 properties. Assets under management were over £70m. The annual revenue budget was £41m and there were around 120 staff working across the property team.

·       The Overall Property Strategy had several aims including:

o   Support the Council’s Corporate Plan objectives and the medium-term financial planning of the organization;

o   Support provision of the housing including market, key worker and affordable;

o   Support the wider decarbonization agenda;

o   Reduce operational footprint of the corporate estate and roll out the wider corporate landlord across the estate.

·       Council tenants had been supported through the pandemic through signposting to grant opportunities.

·       The office estate had been adapted to meet social distance guidance during the pandemic and was now being adapted further to support hybrid working.

During the open discussion, Members raised the following points:

·       Developing the strategy had been challenging due to harmonising five legacy processes, data and property information into one single unitary database. The Cabinet Member gave an example of the legacy County Council putting aside 5% of its property income into reserves to cover voids and rental income fluctuation whereas other legacies did not. The new harmonized policy was 2.5%.

·       Covid had impacted rental income as well as the delivery of new construction projects through delays in the supply chain and contractor staff availability. This had led to some capital slippage increase. Inflation had led to increased costs of construction and energy.

·       Property data had been collated whilst maintenance collation was ongoing. An options review of assets was also in process. A Member had hoped that the service would be further ahead on this project after two years.

·       The Cabinet Member had limited involvement in the timetables, processes and procedures relating to devolution as this was within the Communities portfolio. It was acknowledged that the transfer for Green Street Community Centre, High Wycombe, had taken a long time in part due to extensive community consultation. Any transfers needed to ensure the business could be supported by due diligence. A pilot transfer was commencing soon for a community centre in Aylesbury to the Town Council.

·       Highways had a large number of small pieces of land that was surplus to requirement. These may have been a result of potential Highway improvement schemes such as bypasses or road widening. One Member noted that a similar Highways asset exercise had been undertaken by the legacy County Council and sought assurance that plans would develop. The Chairman noted that the Committee would be interested to have further information on this in future once the Asset Management Plan had been completed.

·       £12m had been secured for the Future High Streets fund with the council adding £5m. The programme aimed to acquire vacant or underused properties in High Wycombe town centre, repurpose them and bring them back to use. Two shops had been acquired (Church Street and High Street) and Cabinet had recently agreed a scheme to acquire and repurpose a unit in the Eden Shopping Centre. Redevelopment of the Chiltern Shopping Centre was also being facilitated into a new residential development. Part of the programme would also improve the Guild Hall and the Little Market House in the town centre. The funding, which was being allocated in consultation with the High Wycombe town Committee and the High Wycombe Community Board, was on track to be spent within the stipulated three years.

·       Around £150m had been invested into eight properties by the legacy councils with the majority being funded.

·       The Cabinet Member would follow up with a Member regarding progress on Beaconsfield Town Council’s town hall.

·       The Cabinet Member was aware of vacant space adjacent King George V House, Amersham. The service was involved in the One Public Estate scheme with funding from Government to explore joint working with other public sector bodies.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for the update on the Strategy.