Asset management strategy

Roles and responsibilities

The cabinet member for finance and assets is the portfolio holder for property and the executive director for finance and assets is accountable for asset management at the council. This direct involvement at councillor and executive management level reflects the importance and recognition of making the best use of our physical resources.

The head of property, finance and assets is responsible for asset management with a professional, ambitious and dynamic property team, working in partnership with our communities, businesses, building occupiers, landowners, suppliers and partners to optimise asset performance and income in the delivery of our property services and solutions.

Our corporate landlord approach

We operate a corporate landlord approach where the ownership of an asset and the responsibility for its management and maintenance is transferred from service areas into the corporate centre. The service area then becomes a corporate tenant and their priority is to plan and deliver their service to the best of their ability. Our property team are responsible for the corporate landlord function to ensure all services are adequately accommodated and the associated land and property assets are managed and maintained.

The corporate landlord’s responsibility extends further to the acquisition, development and disposal of land and buildings. The corporate landlord is responsible for asset planning, review, feasibility and options appraisal accounting for the needs of all service areas, but most importantly, making decisions based on overall corporate priorities.

Management and maintenance

Our land and property are managed and maintained to ensure they are Statutory and Industry (RICS) Complaint, adopting RICS best practice guidelines. Our experienced in-house specialist teams with support from external suppliers where necessary, always strive to ensure our property portfolio is effective, sustainable and energy efficient.

The property team are responsible for a comprehensive compliance regime to ensure our assets remain safe and secure, a prioritised planned maintenance programme for asset enhancement and in-house resource to manage our facilities and reactive repairs to our properties. Decisions relating to the improvement or maintenance of our assets also consider their contribution to our corporate priorities, in particular the reduction of the carbon emissions from our buildings.

Our management and maintenance of our properties, as well as the customer service provided through the corporate landlord approach means we are able to drive efficiency through proactive asset management of our land and property and ensure they provide the right space, in the right place and on the best terms.