Decision details

A report to outline the scope , priorities and plan for a review of the service. The review will result in a new commercial estate and investment strategy ensuring for a post Covid world, resilient to changes in the market and that supports the delivery of council priorities. It will also seek to review the structure of the service to ensure an efficient, customer centric Property Service with access to the required skills and resources in the light of the new strategy.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed to:

1)  Note the content of this report and endorse the focus for our proposed actions (2021):

·  A review of the council’s Commercial Estate and note the principles for the review outlined in section 3.2.4

·  Endorse the principles of the ‘Preparing for the Future Programme’, to reconfigure our Operational (office) Estate (3.3.2)

·  The production of a new Corporate Estate Strategy and

·  A redesign of our estates, maintenance and construction etc functions to enable us to be in the best position to respond to our place shaping and renewal agenda, in support of our communities as we move into Covid recovery in 2021

2)  Delegate decisions relating to the estate to the Cabinet Member for Resources, in consultation with the council’s Chief Operating Officer, Section 151 Officer and Senior Officers in Estates; and

3)  Engage the Corporate Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel in the emerging Corporate Estates Strategy.

Covid has had a significant impact upon and how the council manages its’ commercial estate.  The pandemic has resulted in immediate and permanent changes to our ways of working and our operational estate requirements.  Covid related socio-economic impacts, some of which may become permanent, require the organisation to re-position its’ estate to respond to this change.

For the reasons outlined, Covid has necessitated a requirement to move forward at some pace on developing a new Corporate Estate Strategy.  A review of policies, procedures and resource planning are essential to support delivery of the council’s Corporate Strategy.  The repositioning of our estate function is necessary to aid effective community recovery and renewal. 

Options will be developed through the workstreams identified in this report and will be considered through the agreed governance and decision-making processes.