Property and Land Strategy - 2019 – 2029
Foreword
Our property and land are part of the fabric of the city and local communities. They are the key to how the city and local neighbourhoods look and thrive, help celebrate our heritage and provide opportunities for investment in the city and local areas. They play a significant role in the support and delivery of council and other services and can help us reshape these around the needs of people and neighbourhoods. Our land and property are the city’s assets and we need to collectively reimagine and rethink how they are used by, and with the people of Glasgow.
This Property and Land Strategy – the first ever for the Council - sets out our ambitions to reimagine our property and land estate, working with the city to best meet the needs of those who live, work and visit Glasgow. It forms part of Glasgow’s plans to have a world class city with a thriving and inclusive economy where everyone can flourish and benefit from the city’s success.
To do that we need to focus on people and place, improve our neighbourhoods and tackle poverty and poor health. We need to use all our resources to do this, including our property and land. We have over 1,000 operational properties including nurseries, schools, care homes, community and sports centres, museums, libraries and offices along with surplus property and land.
We want to work with local communities to deliver facilities that are fit for purpose, find solutions that protect the city’s heritage, bring derelict land back into productive use and open up ownership to communities and others.
We want to get the best from our assets so that they deliver value for money and generate income to ensure that essential front line services across the city are protected.
This will no doubt require some brave and bold decisions about replacing and repurposing property and land. By working together as a city, we can deliver a sustainable property and land model that delivers inclusive economic growth across Glasgow, makes our neighbourhoods liveable and healthier, and provides quality services in better facilities throughout the city.
COUNCILLOR KENNY MCLEAN
City Convenor for Neighbourhoods, Housing and Public Realm January 2019
Property and Land Strategy 2019 – 2029
1. Background and Overview
1.1. Property and land represents the Council’s second largest asset after its employees with an operational estate of over 1,000 buildings. This diverse portfolio includes;
Early Years Centres 92
Primary Schools 138
Secondary Schools 30
Community and Sports Facilities 108
Cultural Venues and Museum Facilities 23
Depots/Workshops 250
Parks Facilities 32
Homes for Children or Older Persons 29
1.2. The annual operating costs for the operations property portfolio equates to £130M per annum and has a balance sheet value of £2.2 billion. The current investment plan for our property and land assets is circa £200 million
1.3. In addition to the above, the Council carries a surplus portfolio of property and land that will progress for disposal or redevelopment in line with the social economic and regeneration objectives of the Council and the City.
2. Property and Land Strategy - Alignment
2.1. The management of the council’s property and land assets must be aligned to the overall
objectives of the council, the city and its communities.
2.2. The seven cross cutting themes within the Council Strategic Plan – 2017 to 2022 (link) set out the ways in which the Council’s Vision will be realised. Both directly and indirectly, the council’s property and land assets will contribute to achieving this vision.
2.3. Adopted in March 2017, the Glasgow City Development Plan (link) sets out the Council's land use strategy. As the owner of the city’s largest property and land portfolio, it is essential we lead by example, embracing a place and data based approach to effective decision making that not only supports effective service delivery but can also act as a catalyst for wider social, economic and regeneration objectives.
2.4. Within these wider objectives particular attention will be given to the importance of Open Space within the city environment and the wide range of benefits this can bring to people, the environment and the economy. The Open Space Strategy, that is currently being finalised, (link) will provide guidance on requirements and potential usage of open spaces and through alignment with the Vison for Glasgow Parks and Greenspace, also under development, (Link) we will ensure a consistent context for community involvement and engagement will be adopted.
2.5. The Glasgow Community Planning Partnership brings together a range of public agencies and third sector organisations to work to improve the city, its services and the lives of people who live and work here. The Glasgow Community Plan (link) has been developed by partners in the city to articulate the focus and priority areas where joint action can make a real difference. This Property and Land Strategy will support the achievement of these shared priorities.
Supporting and Enabling Plans
3.1. The Strategy will be supported by five complementary asset plans. These will focus on:
• Community Assets
• Built Heritage Assets
• Vacant and Derelict Land Assets
City Centre Accommodation Plan
• Operational Service Delivery Hubs Plan
3.2. These plans are currently under development and scheduled for completion by April 2019.
3.3. Community Asset Plan; to reflect The Community Empowerment Act and the council
commitment to greater involvement and empowerment of our citizens
3.3.1 In order to create a fit-for-purpose and sustainable estate that encourages collaboration, co-location and sharing of facilities we need to involve communities at an early stage in our plans.
3.3.2 This plan will focus on those assets in communities which could be put to better use by local people who are able to take direct responsibility for them, influence their future use, participate in decision making and – eventually – look to community ownership or management of venues and services.
3.3.3 Crucial to the success of this plan will be the on-going support to build capacity within communities so that community asset transfers across the city can succeed and are sustainable.
3.4. Built Heritage Plan; to provide a consistent and considered approach to the stewardship of our Heritage Assets
3.4.1 The richness of our built heritage is highly valued by all who live, work and visit the city. By their nature heritage assets require significant investment to undertake remedial works, to modify, to support alternative uses and for day to day operation. Yet at the same time they play a pivotal role in our prosperity, our health, our education and our sense of civic pride.
3.4.2 The council has a significant track record of working with partners and a range of external funding bodies to support refurbishment and redevelopment of its heritage estate. Given the extent of the council’s heritage estate however, new, innovative approaches to the redevelopment, purpose, management and ownership will require to be introduced to ensure it is safeguarded for future generations.
3.5. Vacant and Derelict Land Plan; to address the potential blight, cost and missed opportunity that vacant and derelict properties and land can represent.
3.5.1 The council has made significant progress in recent years to reduce the level of vacant and derelict land across the city. Since 2016 there has been a 10.4% reduction in the hectare-age of vacant and derelict land representing a reduction of 40 sites. Notwithstanding this, more than 1000 hectares of unused land remains across the city of which half is in Council ownership. The Council will target those properties and land which are problematic, are in poor condition and draw complaints from nearby residents.
3.5.2 The City’s internationally recognised Stalled Spaces scheme (Link) which facilitates community-led regeneration of vacant and derelict land has helped transform over 150 locations. More recently initiatives, under Space for Growth have begun to explore the option for “meanwhile uses” (Link) to committee report - Space for Growth) for vacant properties owned by City Property LLP. These are both initiatives which can enhance the look and feel of local communities and this plan will build on this work in the years ahead.
3.5.3 While there will be a focus on the existing council property and land portfolio, the plan will also provide a structure for focus on the wider issues of unproductive properties and land in the city. This will be done through a combination of partnership working and intervention, and will include: developing and maintaining a database of empty properties in the City. This will monitor the number, location, and type of properties and prioritise those most in need of intervention. This data will also allow us to adopt a better and more robust approach in dealing with nuisance properties. The use of the Compulsory Purchase and potentially the use Compulsory Sales Orders will, where appropriate, be utilised to accelerate progress.
3.6. City Centre Accommodation Plan:
Relocating city centre services to support the city regeneration districts
3.6.1 Over recent years the Council has significantly reduced its need for city centre accommodation, reducing from 19 to 6 locations. This was achieved through a programme of investment aligned introducing space standards and the introduction of flexible and mobile working arrangements through investment in technology.
3.6.2 We want to continue this work and relocate other key services to regeneration districts of the city. In doing so this will act as a stimulant for inclusive economic growth with the potential to create local employment opportunities whilst at the same time contributing to reducing the overall property operating costs of the council’s estate.
3.6.3 This will require to be undertaken on a phased basis working closely with staff and trade unions to manage the process successfully.
3.7. Operational Service Delivery Hubs Plan: Establishing multi service operations hubs to replace the existing depot network
3.7.1 Currently the Council operates a large network of depots across the city. Many are no longer fit for purpose and are in poor quality. Opportunities exist to reimagine and reinvest in our depot network to ensure that it is better aligned to meeting the needs of communities and staff, now and into the future.
3.7.2 Wherever possible we need to co-locate common and/or complementary operational services and maximise opportunities to share locations with our community planning partners where this makes sense to do so.
3.7.3 By focusing on delivering services from reduced number of locations, potentially with community planning partners, this will enable the council to reduce its operating costs, realise capital receipts and invest in fewer high quality facilities.
4. StrategicObjectives
4.1. This Property and Land Strategy identifies 5 key objectives that will drive the Council’s approach to its use of and investment in property and land over the period 2019 to 2029, namely:
A more efficient, sustainable, smaller and better quality estate
• An agile estate to meet current and future service delivery needs
• Collaborate and co-locate with community planning partners, 3rd sector
organisations and city region partners
• Achieve revenue cost reductions, increase income and generate capital receipts
• Embrace digital and technological innovation to reduce reliance on and improve the
performance of the estate
4.2 more efficient, sustainable, smaller and better quality estate
4.2.2 Over recent years there has been an overall reduction in the size of the council’s estate. This is reflective of improvements in office accommodation space utilisation, the introduction of mobile technologies, service delivery redesign and co-location of services. This trend to reduce the overall size of the estate will continue as further opportunities to maximise occupancy standards, embrace further the use of technologies in the delivery of services and work with others to co-locate services that improve the delivery of services to citizens.
A more efficient and better quality estate will be achieved by focusing investment on a smaller number of high quality buildings that will reduce overall annual operating costs, enable enhanced life cycle maintenance regimes and generate capital receipts from properties that are no longer required for operational purposes.
4.2.3 Sustainability is a factor of both size and shape; fewer properties of a higher quality due to targeted investment will deliver reductions in the council’s carbon footprint.
4.3. An agile estate to meet current and future service delivery needs
4.3.1 With the council’s strategy increasingly focused on collaboration and partnership, our estate will need to be adaptable to change, to accommodate new approaches to how services are delivered, where they can be delivered from, and by whom.
4.4 Collaborate and co-locate with community planning partners, 3rd sector organisations and city region partners
4.4.1 Collaboration with partners and communities to maximise opportunities for co- location and service connectivity that better meets the needs of citizens will be a primary driver in shaping the property and land estate of the future. Although there are clearly cost efficiency benefits from co-location, co-locating key services and agencies can ensure that citizens can access a full suite of services from fewer or single locations.
4.4.2 Building on the ambitions of the Thriving Places Programme (link), we must be ready to respond to our local communities, listen to them and understand how our properties can better meet their needs as we move increasingly towards co-design and co-production.
4.5. Achieve revenue cost reductions/increased income and generate capital receipts
4.5.1 Invest to save will be a key feature of the Strategy to either reduce operating costs or to realise high value capital receipts.
4.5.2 In the face of continued financial constraints it is important that the property portfolio minimises its call on key resources through increased efficiency , maximises income generation opportunities and generates capital receipts from property and land no longer required for operational or community purposes.
4.6. Embrace Digital and Technological innovation to reduce reliance and improve the performance of the estate.
4.6.1 To achieve the ambitions set out in our Digital Strategy (link) we need to embrace digital tools and thinking across all areas of work. Equipping more staff with mobile devices so that they can work flexibly and remotely, making more Council Services available on line, expanding digital telecare and using digital tools to increase engagement and participation in areas such as participatory budgeting, will allow us to challenge the paradigm of what a council building needs to deliver and where it needs to be.
4.6.3 Digital will also be a key enabler in the way we manage our estate. Rich data from a wholly integrated property management system will not only enable the estate to be managed efficiently and effectively on a day to day basis but will contribute to the evidence base for future place based decision making.
5. Actions to Deliver the Objectives
5.1. To achieve the above objectives there will be a focus on the following:
5.2. Working with communities to co design future service delivery needs - a place based, evidenced based approach
This will involve:
• Identify community needs in collaboration with the council and community partners
using local knowledge and expertise.
• Direct investment to maximise opportunities for co-location and multi-delivery sites
to achieve a sustainable and quality portfolio of assets
Conversations with communities about levels of provision within their area and what
the state of council properties in their areas are
This will deliver:
• People and communities involved in the decision making process and empowered to
deliver the outcomes that affect them locally
• Better, updated and co-located community services.
5.3. Establishing multi service/multi agency community hubs across the city
This will involve:
• Capture and collate the range of council and partner agencies’ properties and land in
each locality
• Assessing condition, suitability and sustainability
• Working with communities to establish optimum service needs and delivery models
• Building capacity for greater community participation
This will deliver:
• Direct community involvement in service delivery approaches; localised solutions to
match localised needs
Robust pipeline and rationale to support community asset transfer initiatives
Improvements in effectiveness and efficiency of front facing services.
5.4. Developing new and innovative approaches to the management and purpose of the council’s built heritage estate
This will involve:
• Putting in place processes to assess condition and required investment for each
heritage asset
• Developing an action plan to prioritise sustainable outcomes for Heritage assets
• Continuing to build partnerships with other agencies to improve access to heritage
skills e.g. Glasgow Building Preservation Trust (GBPT) and Glasgow City Heritage
Trust (GCHT).
• Working with Historic Environment Scotland
• Identifying and accessing external funding sources to maximise investment
This will deliver:
• identification and assessment of all council assets which contribute to the city’s
cultural or historical heritage.
• Minimisation of our heritage at risk through programmed condition assessments,
preventative maintenance regimes and investment programmes
• Where opportunities for repurposing are found, heritage assets are put to
productive use.
Appropriate governance arrangements established, covering heritage matters with
processes to allocate scarce funding according to need and contribution to council priorities
5.5. Maximising opportunities to repurpose under occupied and surplus properties
This will involve;
• Accurately cataloguing the council’s non-operational estate
• Identifying properties and land to be retained to support longer term strategic
development opportunities
Developing an action plan to maximise efficiencies and regeneration
• Targeted investment and marketing of surplus property and land
This will deliver:
* Improved utilisation of council estate
* Reduced revenue costs as estate footprint reduces
• Generation of capital receipts
• Potential unlocking of regeneration and redevelopment opportunities for the private
sector
5.6. Empowering communities to take over the ownership and management of community assets
This will involve:
* Actively promoting and supporting the council’s Community Asset Transfer (CAT)
arrangements
• Identifying skills gaps in capacity or capability that inhibit successful CAT
This will deliver:
• Empowered and enabled communities
Local service delivery by local people.
5.7. Ensuring that future investment minimises environmental impacts and establishes life cycle maintenance regimes within affordability limits
This will involve:
Move to life cycle/ whole life financial modelling on all council properties
Phase in Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) as far as budgets permit
• Adopting low-carbon technologies, reduce utility consumption
This will deliver:
More informed budgeting and investment decisions
Reduced repair costs
• A greener, leaner estate
Governance and Programme Management Arrangements
6.1. The undernoted key activities will now be progressed:
• Establishment of the programme management and governance arrangements that will set out:
The initial implementation plan
The outcome targets and timescales
The officer and member governance arrangements
Priority work activities
Communications plan
Community engagement plan
6.2 Oversight of the implementation of the Strategy will be undertaken by the Council’s Contracts and Property Committee
Foreword
Our property and land are part of the fabric of the city and local communities. They are the key to how the city and local neighbourhoods look and thrive, help celebrate our heritage and provide opportunities for investment in the city and local areas. They play a significant role in the support and delivery of council and other services and can help us reshape these around the needs of people and neighbourhoods. Our land and property are the city’s assets and we need to collectively reimagine and rethink how they are used by, and with the people of Glasgow.
This Property and Land Strategy – the first ever for the Council - sets out our ambitions to reimagine our property and land estate, working with the city to best meet the needs of those who live, work and visit Glasgow. It forms part of Glasgow’s plans to have a world class city with a thriving and inclusive economy where everyone can flourish and benefit from the city’s success.
To do that we need to focus on people and place, improve our neighbourhoods and tackle poverty and poor health. We need to use all our resources to do this, including our property and land. We have over 1,000 operational properties including nurseries, schools, care homes, community and sports centres, museums, libraries and offices along with surplus property and land.
We want to work with local communities to deliver facilities that are fit for purpose, find solutions that protect the city’s heritage, bring derelict land back into productive use and open up ownership to communities and others.
We want to get the best from our assets so that they deliver value for money and generate income to ensure that essential front line services across the city are protected.
This will no doubt require some brave and bold decisions about replacing and repurposing property and land. By working together as a city, we can deliver a sustainable property and land model that delivers inclusive economic growth across Glasgow, makes our neighbourhoods liveable and healthier, and provides quality services in better facilities throughout the city.
COUNCILLOR KENNY MCLEAN
City Convenor for Neighbourhoods, Housing and Public Realm January 2019
Property and Land Strategy 2019 – 2029
1. Background and Overview
1.1. Property and land represents the Council’s second largest asset after its employees with an operational estate of over 1,000 buildings. This diverse portfolio includes;
Early Years Centres 92
Primary Schools 138
Secondary Schools 30
Community and Sports Facilities 108
Cultural Venues and Museum Facilities 23
Depots/Workshops 250
Parks Facilities 32
Homes for Children or Older Persons 29
1.2. The annual operating costs for the operations property portfolio equates to £130M per annum and has a balance sheet value of £2.2 billion. The current investment plan for our property and land assets is circa £200 million
1.3. In addition to the above, the Council carries a surplus portfolio of property and land that will progress for disposal or redevelopment in line with the social economic and regeneration objectives of the Council and the City.
2. Property and Land Strategy - Alignment
2.1. The management of the council’s property and land assets must be aligned to the overall
objectives of the council, the city and its communities.
2.2. The seven cross cutting themes within the Council Strategic Plan – 2017 to 2022 (link) set out the ways in which the Council’s Vision will be realised. Both directly and indirectly, the council’s property and land assets will contribute to achieving this vision.
2.3. Adopted in March 2017, the Glasgow City Development Plan (link) sets out the Council's land use strategy. As the owner of the city’s largest property and land portfolio, it is essential we lead by example, embracing a place and data based approach to effective decision making that not only supports effective service delivery but can also act as a catalyst for wider social, economic and regeneration objectives.
2.4. Within these wider objectives particular attention will be given to the importance of Open Space within the city environment and the wide range of benefits this can bring to people, the environment and the economy. The Open Space Strategy, that is currently being finalised, (link) will provide guidance on requirements and potential usage of open spaces and through alignment with the Vison for Glasgow Parks and Greenspace, also under development, (Link) we will ensure a consistent context for community involvement and engagement will be adopted.
2.5. The Glasgow Community Planning Partnership brings together a range of public agencies and third sector organisations to work to improve the city, its services and the lives of people who live and work here. The Glasgow Community Plan (link) has been developed by partners in the city to articulate the focus and priority areas where joint action can make a real difference. This Property and Land Strategy will support the achievement of these shared priorities.
Supporting and Enabling Plans
3.1. The Strategy will be supported by five complementary asset plans. These will focus on:
• Community Assets
• Built Heritage Assets
• Vacant and Derelict Land Assets
City Centre Accommodation Plan
• Operational Service Delivery Hubs Plan
3.2. These plans are currently under development and scheduled for completion by April 2019.
3.3. Community Asset Plan; to reflect The Community Empowerment Act and the council
commitment to greater involvement and empowerment of our citizens
3.3.1 In order to create a fit-for-purpose and sustainable estate that encourages collaboration, co-location and sharing of facilities we need to involve communities at an early stage in our plans.
3.3.2 This plan will focus on those assets in communities which could be put to better use by local people who are able to take direct responsibility for them, influence their future use, participate in decision making and – eventually – look to community ownership or management of venues and services.
3.3.3 Crucial to the success of this plan will be the on-going support to build capacity within communities so that community asset transfers across the city can succeed and are sustainable.
3.4. Built Heritage Plan; to provide a consistent and considered approach to the stewardship of our Heritage Assets
3.4.1 The richness of our built heritage is highly valued by all who live, work and visit the city. By their nature heritage assets require significant investment to undertake remedial works, to modify, to support alternative uses and for day to day operation. Yet at the same time they play a pivotal role in our prosperity, our health, our education and our sense of civic pride.
3.4.2 The council has a significant track record of working with partners and a range of external funding bodies to support refurbishment and redevelopment of its heritage estate. Given the extent of the council’s heritage estate however, new, innovative approaches to the redevelopment, purpose, management and ownership will require to be introduced to ensure it is safeguarded for future generations.
3.5. Vacant and Derelict Land Plan; to address the potential blight, cost and missed opportunity that vacant and derelict properties and land can represent.
3.5.1 The council has made significant progress in recent years to reduce the level of vacant and derelict land across the city. Since 2016 there has been a 10.4% reduction in the hectare-age of vacant and derelict land representing a reduction of 40 sites. Notwithstanding this, more than 1000 hectares of unused land remains across the city of which half is in Council ownership. The Council will target those properties and land which are problematic, are in poor condition and draw complaints from nearby residents.
3.5.2 The City’s internationally recognised Stalled Spaces scheme (Link) which facilitates community-led regeneration of vacant and derelict land has helped transform over 150 locations. More recently initiatives, under Space for Growth have begun to explore the option for “meanwhile uses” (Link) to committee report - Space for Growth) for vacant properties owned by City Property LLP. These are both initiatives which can enhance the look and feel of local communities and this plan will build on this work in the years ahead.
3.5.3 While there will be a focus on the existing council property and land portfolio, the plan will also provide a structure for focus on the wider issues of unproductive properties and land in the city. This will be done through a combination of partnership working and intervention, and will include: developing and maintaining a database of empty properties in the City. This will monitor the number, location, and type of properties and prioritise those most in need of intervention. This data will also allow us to adopt a better and more robust approach in dealing with nuisance properties. The use of the Compulsory Purchase and potentially the use Compulsory Sales Orders will, where appropriate, be utilised to accelerate progress.
3.6. City Centre Accommodation Plan:
Relocating city centre services to support the city regeneration districts
3.6.1 Over recent years the Council has significantly reduced its need for city centre accommodation, reducing from 19 to 6 locations. This was achieved through a programme of investment aligned introducing space standards and the introduction of flexible and mobile working arrangements through investment in technology.
3.6.2 We want to continue this work and relocate other key services to regeneration districts of the city. In doing so this will act as a stimulant for inclusive economic growth with the potential to create local employment opportunities whilst at the same time contributing to reducing the overall property operating costs of the council’s estate.
3.6.3 This will require to be undertaken on a phased basis working closely with staff and trade unions to manage the process successfully.
3.7. Operational Service Delivery Hubs Plan: Establishing multi service operations hubs to replace the existing depot network
3.7.1 Currently the Council operates a large network of depots across the city. Many are no longer fit for purpose and are in poor quality. Opportunities exist to reimagine and reinvest in our depot network to ensure that it is better aligned to meeting the needs of communities and staff, now and into the future.
3.7.2 Wherever possible we need to co-locate common and/or complementary operational services and maximise opportunities to share locations with our community planning partners where this makes sense to do so.
3.7.3 By focusing on delivering services from reduced number of locations, potentially with community planning partners, this will enable the council to reduce its operating costs, realise capital receipts and invest in fewer high quality facilities.
4. StrategicObjectives
4.1. This Property and Land Strategy identifies 5 key objectives that will drive the Council’s approach to its use of and investment in property and land over the period 2019 to 2029, namely:
A more efficient, sustainable, smaller and better quality estate
• An agile estate to meet current and future service delivery needs
• Collaborate and co-locate with community planning partners, 3rd sector
organisations and city region partners
• Achieve revenue cost reductions, increase income and generate capital receipts
• Embrace digital and technological innovation to reduce reliance on and improve the
performance of the estate
4.2 more efficient, sustainable, smaller and better quality estate
4.2.2 Over recent years there has been an overall reduction in the size of the council’s estate. This is reflective of improvements in office accommodation space utilisation, the introduction of mobile technologies, service delivery redesign and co-location of services. This trend to reduce the overall size of the estate will continue as further opportunities to maximise occupancy standards, embrace further the use of technologies in the delivery of services and work with others to co-locate services that improve the delivery of services to citizens.
A more efficient and better quality estate will be achieved by focusing investment on a smaller number of high quality buildings that will reduce overall annual operating costs, enable enhanced life cycle maintenance regimes and generate capital receipts from properties that are no longer required for operational purposes.
4.2.3 Sustainability is a factor of both size and shape; fewer properties of a higher quality due to targeted investment will deliver reductions in the council’s carbon footprint.
4.3. An agile estate to meet current and future service delivery needs
4.3.1 With the council’s strategy increasingly focused on collaboration and partnership, our estate will need to be adaptable to change, to accommodate new approaches to how services are delivered, where they can be delivered from, and by whom.
4.4 Collaborate and co-locate with community planning partners, 3rd sector organisations and city region partners
4.4.1 Collaboration with partners and communities to maximise opportunities for co- location and service connectivity that better meets the needs of citizens will be a primary driver in shaping the property and land estate of the future. Although there are clearly cost efficiency benefits from co-location, co-locating key services and agencies can ensure that citizens can access a full suite of services from fewer or single locations.
4.4.2 Building on the ambitions of the Thriving Places Programme (link), we must be ready to respond to our local communities, listen to them and understand how our properties can better meet their needs as we move increasingly towards co-design and co-production.
4.5. Achieve revenue cost reductions/increased income and generate capital receipts
4.5.1 Invest to save will be a key feature of the Strategy to either reduce operating costs or to realise high value capital receipts.
4.5.2 In the face of continued financial constraints it is important that the property portfolio minimises its call on key resources through increased efficiency , maximises income generation opportunities and generates capital receipts from property and land no longer required for operational or community purposes.
4.6. Embrace Digital and Technological innovation to reduce reliance and improve the performance of the estate.
4.6.1 To achieve the ambitions set out in our Digital Strategy (link) we need to embrace digital tools and thinking across all areas of work. Equipping more staff with mobile devices so that they can work flexibly and remotely, making more Council Services available on line, expanding digital telecare and using digital tools to increase engagement and participation in areas such as participatory budgeting, will allow us to challenge the paradigm of what a council building needs to deliver and where it needs to be.
4.6.3 Digital will also be a key enabler in the way we manage our estate. Rich data from a wholly integrated property management system will not only enable the estate to be managed efficiently and effectively on a day to day basis but will contribute to the evidence base for future place based decision making.
5. Actions to Deliver the Objectives
5.1. To achieve the above objectives there will be a focus on the following:
5.2. Working with communities to co design future service delivery needs - a place based, evidenced based approach
This will involve:
• Identify community needs in collaboration with the council and community partners
using local knowledge and expertise.
• Direct investment to maximise opportunities for co-location and multi-delivery sites
to achieve a sustainable and quality portfolio of assets
Conversations with communities about levels of provision within their area and what
the state of council properties in their areas are
This will deliver:
• People and communities involved in the decision making process and empowered to
deliver the outcomes that affect them locally
• Better, updated and co-located community services.
5.3. Establishing multi service/multi agency community hubs across the city
This will involve:
• Capture and collate the range of council and partner agencies’ properties and land in
each locality
• Assessing condition, suitability and sustainability
• Working with communities to establish optimum service needs and delivery models
• Building capacity for greater community participation
This will deliver:
• Direct community involvement in service delivery approaches; localised solutions to
match localised needs
Robust pipeline and rationale to support community asset transfer initiatives
Improvements in effectiveness and efficiency of front facing services.
5.4. Developing new and innovative approaches to the management and purpose of the council’s built heritage estate
This will involve:
• Putting in place processes to assess condition and required investment for each
heritage asset
• Developing an action plan to prioritise sustainable outcomes for Heritage assets
• Continuing to build partnerships with other agencies to improve access to heritage
skills e.g. Glasgow Building Preservation Trust (GBPT) and Glasgow City Heritage
Trust (GCHT).
• Working with Historic Environment Scotland
• Identifying and accessing external funding sources to maximise investment
This will deliver:
• identification and assessment of all council assets which contribute to the city’s
cultural or historical heritage.
• Minimisation of our heritage at risk through programmed condition assessments,
preventative maintenance regimes and investment programmes
• Where opportunities for repurposing are found, heritage assets are put to
productive use.
Appropriate governance arrangements established, covering heritage matters with
processes to allocate scarce funding according to need and contribution to council priorities
5.5. Maximising opportunities to repurpose under occupied and surplus properties
This will involve;
• Accurately cataloguing the council’s non-operational estate
• Identifying properties and land to be retained to support longer term strategic
development opportunities
Developing an action plan to maximise efficiencies and regeneration
• Targeted investment and marketing of surplus property and land
This will deliver:
* Improved utilisation of council estate
* Reduced revenue costs as estate footprint reduces
• Generation of capital receipts
• Potential unlocking of regeneration and redevelopment opportunities for the private
sector
5.6. Empowering communities to take over the ownership and management of community assets
This will involve:
* Actively promoting and supporting the council’s Community Asset Transfer (CAT)
arrangements
• Identifying skills gaps in capacity or capability that inhibit successful CAT
This will deliver:
• Empowered and enabled communities
Local service delivery by local people.
5.7. Ensuring that future investment minimises environmental impacts and establishes life cycle maintenance regimes within affordability limits
This will involve:
Move to life cycle/ whole life financial modelling on all council properties
Phase in Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) as far as budgets permit
• Adopting low-carbon technologies, reduce utility consumption
This will deliver:
More informed budgeting and investment decisions
Reduced repair costs
• A greener, leaner estate
Governance and Programme Management Arrangements
6.1. The undernoted key activities will now be progressed:
• Establishment of the programme management and governance arrangements that will set out:
The initial implementation plan
The outcome targets and timescales
The officer and member governance arrangements
Priority work activities
Communications plan
Community engagement plan
6.2 Oversight of the implementation of the Strategy will be undertaken by the Council’s Contracts and Property Committee