ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN 2012-2015

ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN 2012-2015

CONTENTS Page 1.0 2.0 ASSET MANAGEMENT PLANNING Plan Purpose Asset Definition Teignbridge Portfolio Plan Reviews Vision at End of Plan Period Best Practice Strategic Property Partnership FINANCIAL CONTEXT Capital Revenue 1-4 4-6 3.0 PROPERTY ASSET OBJECTIVES & POLICY STATEMENTS General 4.0 DISPOSAL POLICY Asset Definition Teignbridge Portfolio 5.0 COMMUNITY ASSET TRANSFER POLICY & ASSETS OF COMMUNITY 6.0 ASSET MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS Strategic Roles and Responsibilities Property Data Technical Functions Estates Management Building Energy Management Facilities Management 7.0 IMPLEMENTATION Asset Review Resource Implications 6-7 7-9 9-10 10-13 13-16 8.0 PROPERTY ASSET PERFORMANCE MEASURES 16 9.0 RISK 17 10.0 CONCLUSION 17 Asset Disposal Procedure Community Asset Transfer Procedure & Guidance Leasehold Management Procedure

1.0 ASSET MANAGEMENT PLANNING The effective and efficient Management of the Council s property based assets will assist the Council in ensuring best value for money and contribute towards the delivery of the strategic needs and goals of the organisation. PLAN PURPOSE This Asset Management Plan (AMP) sets out the Council s approach to the Strategic Management of its land and building assets including policy for asset disposal and transfer to the community. The plan s timeframe reflects that of the newly agreed Council Plan 2012-2015. There are separate (but associated) procedures outlined in the appendices which deal with Asset Disposal, Community Asset Transfers and Leasehold Management. Policies on Building Maintenance Strategy and The Energy & Carbon Reduction Plan being part of this plan have already been approved. The AMP seeks to make sure the Council and its communities get the best use out of our property assets. This is set out in the Management Statement at the beginning of the Council Plan. The AMP also aspires to ensure property assets are used in the most effective and efficient way to support service strategies and policies and our community and strategic public sector partners. Property represents the Council s largest physical resource in financial terms. It supports and underpins all of our service activities. Strategic Asset Management must therefore be an integral element of high quality service planning aligning the disposition, quality and effectiveness of property assets with ongoing service strategies. Property is one of the slowest of all business resources in responding to change because of the complexities associated with buying, selling, leasing, altering or developing it. This inherent delay means that, for the Council s property assets to be a transformational force for good, its management must be at the heart of the Council s corporate forward planning process. Only in this way can we maximise use and efficiency of the property portfolio to support and facilitate modern and changing ways of working making a long term, positive contribution to successful and economical service delivery. ASSET DEFINITION Asset in this Asset Management Plan is used to refer to both built and unbuilt property assets and can include buildings or bare land as the case may be. There may be a number of legal property interests in or over an asset and/or equipment on an asset. The Council s asset database SaM identifies these hierarchically as premises, buildings and zones. (assets defined by separate cost codes) 1

TEIGNBRIDGE PORTFOLIO The Council currently has 1422 (April 2012) premises buildings and zones with a book value of 41.6 million.the majority of these are operational properties used by the council to deliver its essential services. The assets are varied and include, leisure centres, car parks, tourist information centres, public toilets, sports pavilions, parks, industrial land and play areas. Apart from one asset the Council does not hold an investment portfolio; its assets are primarily directed at service provision or community use. The Authority targets investment in property through a balance of community priority, property condition and future need. Assets categorised for book value are grouped together below for valuation purposes (there are a larger number of premises, buildings and zones defined as assets in the SaM database) into the following valuation categories: 520 Land and Buildings (Leisure centres, toilets, offices, car parks, play areas shelters etc). 40 Surplus and held for sale Assets (Property awaiting development or sale). 271 Community assets (Open spaces etc) 1 Investment Asset (Site of Mast at Bishop Wilfrid Rd Teignmouth) 68 Infrastructure assets (footpaths, roads and bridges). The number of assets held will change from time to time due to sale, acquisition or redefinition. PLAN REVIEWS To ensure that the AMP remains dynamic and flexible and can accommodate the emerging themes, goals and priorities from the Council Plan it is intended that the AMP be subject to regular updates to ensure that it continues to meet the Council s aspirations for its Assets and can accommodate any changes in the Council s Asset Management functions and policy as well as the rapidly changing Central Government agenda. Property Policy issues to be considered at revision include but are not limited to: Update on Asset Review (standing item) Update on Asset Management functions (standing item) Holding and budgeting for assets corporately (including charging asset rents to services) Exploring options to reduce operational footprint Outsourcing services Community Asset Transfers Property issues from Localism Act 2011 & National Planning Policy Framework Disposals 2

Investment Property Development sites and projects Carbon management & reduction R&M Policy VISION AT END OF PLAN PERIOD The Asset base will be transformed to align with the lean delivery requirements of this Council and its partner public sector bodies with an associated cost saving. There will be improved accommodation flexibility facilitating an improvement in quality of delivery to the end customer. The Council owns significant assets within the District which include a variety of operational sites, land in community use, public open space and leisure sites. The Council s Asset Management Plan sets out this Council s roadmap in reaching its vision for its assets which is:- An asset base that aligns with the Council s Lean delivery requirements and meets the needs of the Council, users and partner public sector bodies, now and in the future. This is best served by assets being held corporately with services recognising the true cost of occupation by being charged asset rents for their occupation. An open dialogue with community groups to ensure that where a community group can better run and manage an asset, that group is given every opportunity to do so. Financial benefits to the Council in terms of cost savings, reductions in reactive maintenance expenditure and realised value for the sale of surplus assets. Retained assets that deliver more flexible accommodation suitable for the delivery of services to the end customer. BEST PRACTICE The following (based on RICS asset management guidelines) is recommended for adoption: prioritise property asset management at a senior level and have a senior executive as property asset champion link the property asset management plan to the corporate vision and statutory requirements link property asset management with all other corporate strategies and work across internal and external organisational and authority boundaries to appropriately align all property asset management strategies to produce partnership property asset strategies where appropriate 3

review arrangements for capital asset planning to ensure they fit business and property asset strategies consider all practical options for financing new property assets ensure that mechanisms are in place to measure customer satisfaction collect, analyse, store and keep updated all relevant property asset data outline the objectives for each property asset, having considered all practical options establish clear strategic approaches to the utilisation of space and flexible working and co-location with partners and stakeholders conduct post-implementation reviews of all capital projects, and engage with other organisations and share learning to drive a process of continuous improvement This AMP is based on the recently published RICS Guidelines for Local Authority Asset Management which is the result of a partnership between RICS, the Government and other public bodies. This comprehensive document is likely in future to be the key point of reference for Asset Management Planning. We have therefore taken the opportunity to align the AMP with this Guidance to ensure the robustness of the AMP now and in the future. STRATEGIC PROPERTY PARTNERSHIP A variety of public sector organisations (who all have their own property assets) provide services to local communities. These organisations (including County, Town and Parish Councils, Police, Health & Fire Authorities are under a mandate to seek opportunities to save costs by rationalising their estate and sharing premises with others where possible. The Council will continue to share information and support the County Council s initiative to manage portfolios across the public sector in Devon through their continued participation in the Devonwide Strategic Property Board (which is part of the Local Strategic Partnership). 2.0 FINANCIAL CONTEXT Property assets are expensive, in terms of both their capital value and revenue costs; they need to be carefully managed over their lives to ensure best value through their use, maintenance and generation of income. The period of this AMP is the same as that of the Council s medium term financial plan and the two are interrelated. CAPITAL There need to be realistic assumptions about the achievable capital receipts which Council assets can deliver. These values should be constantly updated to inform the capital programme and manage expectations. The economic indications are that property market conditions will not improve significantly during the plan period and therefore achieving high values upon the sale of Council assets is likely to remain challenging. Prudential borrowing can be a viable funding mechanism for priority projects where a good return on capital can be demonstrated such as the recent purchase by the Authority of industrial units in Bradley Lane. 4

All assets will be sold at best consideration even those deemed to be a community asset, however discounts may be offered for assets to be sold to Parish Councils and community groups the value of which will be based on an assessment of the community benefit the new arrangement will deliver. It is important to recognise the loss of potential capital receipts where Community Asset Transfers take place at less than best consideration and this needs to be included in relevant reports. Early consultation with Finance is also essential to this process. REVENUE Rental Income Full recovery from the current recession is unlikely during the plan period and the challenging trading conditions facing the majority of the Council s tenants means that increased revenue from market rents is uncertain at best. Current market predictions indicate that rents are only likely to show a modest increase (if any) and that this increase will only start to be realised towards the end of the plan period. Central Government continues to push the property industry to consider upwards or downwards rent review provisions in new leases and if this initiative is widely taken up then it will put further pressure on rental income. For a number of years the situation has been that the annual budget allocation for repairs and maintenance is continually under pressure due to the high proportion of the budget that is taken up with maintaining an aging stock of built assets. The limited budget for repairs and maintenance has resulted in the Building Maintenance Team prioritising expenditure to ensure that all properties are kept wind and watertight as a minimum and where occupied, to ensure all Health and Safety requirements are met. When implementing the AMP the asset review in section 7 will therefore aim to identify those properties which are expensive to maintain or do not enable efficient working practices. It will also seek to propose options to either upgrade the properties in order to generate operational savings or suggest alternative solutions for the delivery of the relevant services, potentially making the asset available for disposal or redevelopment. Expenditure Property costs for 2011/12 were 2.2 million. This was broken down as follows: Expenditure Total Amount Non Domestic Rates 865,218 Planned Maintenance 542,277 Water 267,104 Unplanned Maintenance 212,326 Electricity 281,600 Rent Payable 148,094 Gas 134,992 Fuel 3,739 Total Costs 2,455.350 5

Staff costs for Property Maintenance Design & Facilities Management are around 345kpa and 172kpa for Assets & Estates. Income The Council s let estate produces an income (excludes car parking revenue) of 1.36m against a total portfolio value of 41.6 million. 3.0 PROPERTY ASSET OBJECTIVES & POLICY STATEMENTS GENERAL The way that the Council manages its land and property assets has a direct impact on the quality of services delivered to the public. It is therefore important that efficient and effective use is made of these assets to support corporate and service objectives. KEY OBJECTIVES An efficient allocation of property assets across the organisation, fully aligned with each service delivery department and as far as possible, meeting legislative and customer aspirations A better integration of service delivery from single multi-purpose locations across the organisation, aligned and where appropriate, co-located with partner s delivery arrangements Alignment with the increased introduction of innovative on-line non property asset dependent service delivery ing sustainable delivery strategies, Investigation of cross-organisation and/or across a number of organisations, engineered property asset vehicles to provide additional or improved service delivery To effect cost savings by devolving operational assets to communities for them to facilitate current service provision by maintaining them in their existing use or bring forward innovative new methods of service provision. To offer non operational assets to community groups and others under the Localism Act provided that any disposal at less than best consideration is in accordance with Community Asset Transfer Policy & Guidance (See Appendix 2) To realise capital receipts Use assets to stimulate and enable regeneration, with particular emphasis on town centre sites. Explore opportunities for asset disposal in connection with the Localism Act 2011 The disposal of surplus assets are to link with the Medium Term Financial Strategy subject to the Community Asset Transfer Policy & Guidance All Assets to be: Legislatively compliant health and safety compliant and accessible by people with disabilities in accordance with Disability legislation 6

Operational (Service) Property Assets to be: Fit for purpose and in sufficiently good condition to enable uninterrupted services to be provided from an environment that is comfortable for customers and staff Located so as to allow customers access and staff to deliver services Readily adaptable space that can be economically reconfigured as service needs change Available for sharing with partner agencies Value for money in terms of a balance between efficiency in operation, running costs and long term sustainability Conveying a positive image of the authority and the services being provided Reviewed and assessed with Service Managers on a regular basis Non-operational Property Assets to: Generate net income to support the budget Make a contribution to the social or economic well being of local communities Be retained only if they have strategic importance such as the potential to influence physical and economic regeneration 4.0 DISPOSAL POLICY The Council has a large portfolio of assets and in certain circumstances it will be appropriate to dispose of one or more assets to further the Council s objectives. This part of the AMP is intended to provide a framework for consideration where the disposal of an asset is considered. 1. Identification of land for disposal Surplus land and property can come forward for disposal in many ways, but commonly by the one of the following methods: From the Asset Review (See below) Following a direct approach from a council service area which in the medium term may result from a change in service provider. Following a direct approach from an interested party (normally an adjoining owner or community group) A change in planning designation/zoning or planning law (such as the National Planning Policy Framework) that alters the designation of assets or the use to which they can be put. Whenever a property is identified as potentially surplus to requirements, the business case shall identify the holding costs, including any exceptional maintenance, security or other costs. Where appropriate these shall be offset against its value as a site to influence physical and economic regeneration. 7

2. Reason for Disposal As outlined elsewhere in this AMP, the Council s assets perform a number of functions and contribute towards a number of outcomes. However, in certain circumstances, it may be appropriate to consider disposing of assets, in the majority of cases, as a result of some or all of the following:- Where a disposal is required in connection with a right or power contained within the Localism Act 2011 (i.e. Community Right to Challenge, Assets of Community Value) The identification of a general need for capital receipts to support the medium term financial plan Where the disposal helps to deliver other council objectives or priorities e.g. meeting housing need etc Community Asset Transfers (see below) 3. Determine Legal constraints and Title Before reaching any decision on the disposal (or otherwise) of Council s assets, a report on title (if not already on file) shall be obtained which shall contain legal advice on the covenants, easements, rights, restrictions and obligations affecting the asset in question. 4. Development Potential Before making any binding decision as to the nature or method of disposal (including any agreement on value),a pre application enquiry needs to made to determine potential alternative uses and consider those uses that are likely to achieve the highest value (which will normally include examining potential for residential uses). A cost benefit analysis shall be made of the asset s suitability for sale in its present state and what work may need to be done to prepare it for sale as well as an estimate of the value the asset might achieve assuming such work is carried out prior to sale. 5. Housing Potential For any sites with residential potential, Housing colleagues will be consulted regarding potential for affordable housing and the associated financial implications 6. Legal and constitutional framework The Council may dispose of surplus land and property having regard to the provisions in section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 and the General Disposal Consent 2003. This legislation ensures that property is disposed of at the best price obtainable subject to certain exceptions. The Localism Act 2011 contains a general power of competence that is likely to operate so as to extend the Council s ability to dispose of land but this will not override any current legislative restrictions. Currently there is delegation to the Service Lead for minor property transactions and the financial regulations provide for the Portfolio Holder to approve transactions 8

up to 50,000 in value. Transactions above 50,000 in value require the approval of the Executive. This level of value needs to be reviewed to ensure that decisions are taken at the appropriate level and a further report will be forthcoming in due course. 5.0 COMMUNITY ASSET TRANSFER POLICY & ASSETS OF COMMUNITY VALUE To date the Council has worked with community organisations including town and parish councils to assist them with taking on Community Assets, but experience has shown requests for disposals to have been ad hoc. Where a Community Asset Transfer request comes forward, the following principles will be considered/applied in dealing with the request:- a. Any proposed asset transfer must promote social, economic or environmental wellbeing and support the core purpose and corporate outcomes of the Council; b. The Council will take a strategic approach to Corporate Asset Management Planning by reviewing its portfolio and undertaking option appraisals which will include examining the transfer potential of its assets through the asset review. (see below) c. An analysis shall be undertaken for each transfer or group of transfers of the net cost/gain to the council before the decision is made to transfer d. The Council has a dual role to support the Third Sector but also to act as a steward of publicly owned assets. e. The Community organisation concerned will need to demonstrate due diligence and a business plan (within the context of any Neighbourhood Plan) for taking over the asset. f. The Council will adopt a transparent corporate process for asset transfer which will include a clear point of first contact and clear stages and timescales for each party. g. The Council will not guarantee exclusivity on a first come first served basis when considering asset transfer and will consider other expressions of interest, as appropriate, in relation to any proposed asset transfer in order to gain maximum benefit for the local community. h. If any disposal at less than best consideration is pursued, it may be accompanied by a legally binding service level agreement (SLA) or other appropriate agreements identifying the benefits and how these will be monitored and measured, together with the remedies available to both parties if the legally binding SLA or other mechanism is not met. The Localism Act 2011 places Assets of Community Value on a statutory footing and has been publicised widely. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the Council will receive applications from community groups and the AMP sets out the following policy. The Localism Act 2011 requires the Council to respond to requests to list assets of community value (including those in its own portfolio and assets owned by third 9

parties). While initially promoted as a right to buy, the provisions of the Act only actually give Community Organisations the right to bid for a Community Asset in certain circumstances but only when a decision has been made to sell.. The Council will seek to comply with the provisions of sections 87 to 108 the Localism Act 2011 with regard to assets of community value and in particular, the Council will:- a. maintain a list of land in the district that are assets of community value as well as a list of land nominated by unsuccessful community nominations, b. consider whether or not to include land nominated as an asset of community value upon its list of assets of community value, c. publish the lists required to be maintained by the Localism Act 2011, d. update the list of assets of community value to reflect any relevant disposal notices relevant to such assets, e. comply with relevant guidance and regulations as issued from time to time in connection with assets of community value. 6.0 ASSET MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS STRATEGIC ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The senior politician accountable for property matters is the Executive Member for Assets and Resources who acts as property asset champion. The senior manager for the strategic performance and deployment of property is the Corporate Property Officer who is the Deputy Chief Executive. He discharges this function through the Service Manager for Economy and Regeneration and the Estates Manager (who also has the responsibility for the technical function of Estates). A different Director has responsibility for the technical functions of Design, Facilities, Building Maintenance and Property Data Management. Recommended practice (already adopted by many authorities) is to convene a Corporate Property Asset Management Group made up of representatives from operational and central departments. The group would have officer responsibility for the use of property assets, capital planning and expenditure throughout the organisation. Ideally meeting on quarterly basis the group would report to the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Member. This is recommended in the council s Financial Instructions. All property related issues within the authority including the purchase of property fixtures and their maintenance should properly be routed by service departments through the Property and Estates Teams. PROPERTY DATA Accurate and good quality data is a key to ensuring the right decisions are made in respect of property assets. This is currently recorded in the SaM (Service Asset Management) database, a commercial software package with each Asset being 10

given a unique reference number. Core Data is able to be recorded on each Asset in terms of address tenure floor area condition and tenant information. The SaM system has replaced the previous P-ASSETS database. The data held is used for management purposes and for reports to inform PIs. Links from SaM are already established to the Council s generic mapping system GISMO. The latter system has a layer which maps the Council s ownership ( Land Terrier ) as well as an assets layer. It is essential that this information is kept up to date especially with the intention to make it more widely available to the public on the Web. Further links are being developed with the Council s financial management system FMS. Considerable staff resource is still needed to populate all the required fields with data over the next 12 months in order to fully utilise the benefits that the database and supporting software can deliver The SaM system is managed jointly by the Estates Team & the Design and Property Team and there will then need to be an ongoing review and updating of the information held to ensure that the system remains current. TECHNICAL FUNCTIONS BUILDING MAINTENANCE (part of the Design and Property Service) The Design and Property department (DPD) manage the delivery and implementation of both a planned and reactive maintenance and repair service to ensure the Council s property assets (including the mechanical and electrical installations) comply with all statutory and legislative requirements, remain in a satisfactory condition and enable the continued delivery of its front line services. A range of professional and contract management services is provided by DPD as part of its building maintenance function. These include: the management and control of the repair and maintenance budgets both capital and revenue, preparation of building and condition surveys and reports, creation of alteration and refurbishment scheme designs, generation of formal contract documentation for the procurement of various project and service measured term contracts, contract administration and management, the delivery of projects identified within the corporate carbon management programme or planned maintenance programme and the implementation of a variety of other property related reports and inspections. As part of the management strategy for asset maintenance a planned maintenance programme was generated in 2009 and is maintained via a rolling programme of condition surveys. Information contained within the planned maintenance programme can be used in the Estate Management function such as asset disposal or transfer policy, can be used to identify potential asset investment or capital work opportunities and generate a programme of work to keep its assets in proper repair. The planned maintenance programme of work will minimise the need for the more costly reactive 11

type of repair work, allow the procurement of work in a more effective and timely manner, keep assets operational minimising interruption to service delivery, allow the Council s limited financial resources to be targeted more effectively and provide a degree of surety to its budgetary forecasts and operating costs. The scale and scope of the planned maintenance programme will be influenced by budgetary and other business pressures. A DPD department objective is, over time, to bring the ratio of planned: reactive expenditure to a position where expenditure favours planned maintenance... An industry standard split of 60:40 (planned: reactive) spend profile is the target with an intention of increasing this ratio over time subject the affect of any limiting factors including financial support. ESTATES MANAGEMENT (part of the Economy and Regeneration Service) The team provide an independent source of professional property advice in respect of the key technical functions in connection with property disposals, acquisitions, valuations, insurance, rating and property ownership issues, licences, wayleaves and easements. Best practice procedures are now in use for all the key Estates functions to give quality assurance and consistency. The team are currently responsible for managing a five year rolling programme of property disposals including bringing the property to the market, obtaining planning permission, acting in a client role for appointing agents and marketing and dealing with post sale queries. Community Asset Transfer and Assets of Community Value are likely to be an increasing role for the team including supporting the Council s listing of assets of community value and advising on potential compensation to owners under the Localism Act 2011. The team have already been involved in the transfer of assets to and hand back from community organisations. The valuation function relates to giving advice on freehold and leasehold values and estimates of worth for future proposals and schemes conducting negotiations with agents where appointed. There is also a rolling 5 year programme of asset valuations of the entire portfolio for accounting (book value) purposes crucial to the annual audit of the Council s balance sheet. The team deals with the management of the Council s leasehold estate of some 300 properties which includes dealing with tenant queries and landlord consents, lease renewals and rent reviews. The income from the estate is monitored on a regular basis with finance colleagues. There are also frequent requests for temporary use of Council land under licence. There are a large number of land ownership queries and boundary issues but it is hoped to make more map based information available on the web in future in an attempt to reduce the call on the team s resources. The team also provide Strategic Asset Management advice and have commenced implementation of this plan through the initial work on the Asset Review. 12

BUILDING ENERGY MANAGEMENT (part of the Environment and Safety Service) Best Practice Central Government is recommending that public sector organisations should: Invest in both energy efficiency measures and renewable energy generation to deliver cost-effective carbon reduction within the built environment Co-operate with public and private sector partners to develop cost effective and systemic programmes of energy investment and maximise the cost efficiency of energy management and carbon reduction strategies by aggregation in property Enhance internal skills to devise and implement comprehensive energy management strategies covering both energy generation and efficiency measures Teignbridge Approach Following the success of the first five year plan, a further five year Carbon Management Plan for Teignbridge is currently being signed off by the Carbon Trust with a commitment to reduce energy usage by a further 20% over the next 5 years. This plan fulfils a major part of Goal 2 in the Council Plan for 2011 2015: We will reduce our carbon footprint by reducing our waste, being more energy efficient and making better transport choices. The major energy users in the Council have been identified, notably the Leisure Centres who contribute 38% of our total CO 2 emissions and a detailed assessment carried out of the potential projects and associated payback period for the investment to achieve realistic savings. A thermal imaging camera is to be purchased to determine heat loss from our buildings so that an abatement strategy can be developed for the worst performing assets. FACILITIES MANAGEMENT (Part of the Design and Property Service) A single manager - for principally the Forde House campus - is responsible for the management of departmental office accommodation. Other operational facilities are managed by individual service managers responsible for the functions they provide such as Leisure with support from the Estates Team and DPD. 7.0 IMPLEMENTATION ASSET REVIEW In order to achieve the Vision in this plan a complete review of the Council s assets is being undertaken Parish by Parish. 13

The basis of the review is to assess all assets and the value to the authority in maintaining ownership. The value to the authority may not simply be the value the asset might realise on disposal; it could include a reduction in running costs or other liabilities to the Council. In particular there will be a review of the current operational workspace with a view to recommending reductions or other solutions in order to reduce costs without impacting on service delivery. However these costs will only be realised if the redundant space or assets can be either rented out or disposed of. It is of no benefit to identify an asset, render it vacant and then pay to keep it empty and secure. It will also identify & analyse assets:- deemed to be of community value (including a review to determine if that asset should remain with this Council or if there is a wider benefit of it being owned/managed by a parish council or a community organisation); which have a potential development value (including their suitability for affordable housing development or potential self build sites). If not suitable foe affordable housing they will be sold at best consideration and the capital receipt used to support the capital programme. which have a wider development value or have potential to be part of a regeneration proposal with other partners. These will be held and managed at minimal costs until any proposals come to fruition or are ruled out for other reasons (at which time an alternative strategy will be pursued). The Asset Review will take place in several Phases:- Phase 1 Initially the Council s property assets are being categorised as follows: 1. Operational assets held and controlled for direct operational purposes e.g. play areas, car parks, leisure centres and tourist information centres. 2. Leased Out those assets leased to third parties for service delivery, for revenue or to control use. 3. Development Potential assets not operationally required but with potential for a change of use, subject to planning. 4. Non-operational assets with no obvious development potential but which are vacant and currently surplus to requirements. Possible potential for operational use or disposal depending on outcome of service review 5. Adopted Highway, Housing Sewers, Affordable Housing and Land Drainage Related - those assets held or maintained for statutory or legacy reasons but not part of strategic service requirements. 6. Open Space / Landscaping those assets included in the Green Spaces Grounds Maintenance Contract. Potential cost implication of removing assets from this contract which expires in 2016. 14

Operating and maintenance costs are being obtained or estimated for each asset and any income will be reported as and when decisions need to be reached on the future use of the asset. Reporting: A regular review of progress by the Corporate Property Officer (Deputy Chief Executive) and the Executive Member for Assets & Resources. Phase 2 The second phase will consist of departmental analysis, consulting with the relevant service managers on the suitability, sufficiency and cost of assets held under their service cost codes. This will include service department office accommodation at Forde House. Corporate and Service Delivery strategies will determine the form, shape and structure of the review and any ongoing related management plans. The main question to be answered is: Does the present property asset base fulfil the delivery needs of the occupying departments in achieving the Council Plan? If not, a gap analysis and costing exercise of asset upgrade (if appropriate) will be required on what changes are necessary to bring it up to a level of effectiveness which meets the service requirements and the aspirations of their customers. These service requirements will be tabled with local public sector partners to determine whether a joint solution can be found, if appropriate. Often this will be a compromise recognising affordability, practicality and realism. As identified elsewhere in this AMP, property is an illiquid resource and therefore it will take time to identify and determine changing property needs and to respond, resource and implement them. Reporting: Interim progress reports will be provided to the Corporate Property Officer (Deputy Chief Executive) and onwards ultimately to the Executive for project approval where appropriate. Phase 3 For any assets that may be considered to be potentially surplus, the Asset Disposal Policy in Appendix 1 is to be followed with initial consideration of inter departmental needs and policy needs e.g. potential affordable housing sites taken into account. Subsequently there will be Consultation with other public sector partners and local community representatives on potential disposal. Finally, the asset(s) will be disposed of or dealt with as appropriate and subject to the appropriate decisionmaking process. Reporting: Interim reports will be provided to the Corporate Property Officer (Deputy Chief Executive) and onward to Executive for final decisions on Disposal. 15

RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS The Asset Review will take approximately 12 months to complete and will require a significant amount of officer time for co-ordination of information, consultation with stakeholders and reporting. 8.0 PROPERTY ASSET PERFORMANCE MEASURES Owing to the diverse nature of local authority property portfolios and the volatile nature of the economy in recent years, useful best value performance indicators have never been developed. However as part of the Teignbridge Council Plan the following indicators have been adopted and are to be measured and reported from March 2012 in the Councils SPAR system: Number of communities where total community asset transfers have taken place % of office or operational building floor space shared with public agencies % of property spend covered by property income % lettable property floor space that is empty It is intended that these be benchmarked where possible on a national basis. However there is only a limited amount of benchmarking activity due to the diverse nature of portfolios previously mentioned. SMART targets need to be set for monitoring purposes. The value of these indicators will be a year by year comparison. The following recommended range of cost, quality and productivity PI's are to be explored and used once the relevant base data is available: The industry standard split of 60:40 (planned: reactive) spend profile on property maintenance as a target and increasing the proportion of planned maintenance over time. Carbon Reduction - There should be a PI covering the aim of a 20% reduction over 5 years % of total assets with full details available on the SaM database (e.g. floor areas) Asset users satisfaction PI to check assets are fit for purpose on an annual basis. Asset management cost (staff costs) PI. For TDC used assets Total office accommodation (sq.m) per staff (FTE) Any additional appropriate PI's from the suite of property indicators developed by via CIPFA under the National Property Performance Management Initiative (NaPPMI) These are benchmarked nationally (subject to annual subscription) 16

9.0 RISK Service user satisfaction is measured for Building Maintenance and is to be measured from this year in Estates. In addition the Asset Management Plan process as a project will be reviewed and reported on SPAR. The Council will adopt a formal risk management approach for all risks related to its management of assets and delivery of property services in accordance with its Risk Management Strategy. This will ensure that critical risks are controlled and that expenditure on risk mitigation is based on sound analysis. Risks are assessed and entered on the Council s Risk Register as and when they are identified. Significant risks may be escalated for inclusion in the Council s Strategic Risk Register. The risks associated with the property portfolio can be categorised as follows: Strategic Risk Technical Risks Capacity Risks From outcomes of policy e.g. Community Asset Transfer Non compliance with legislation Lack of staff resources, Strategic Asset Management skills or Technical Management capacity 10.0 CONCLUSION The Council s Asset Management Plan (AMP) was updated in 2009/10 but not adopted pending the Corporate Plan revision which was underway at the time. The AMP creates a useful overview of how the Council s assets support the Council s Corporate Goals and the challenges ahead in ensuring a strategic approach is taken to support corporate and services strategies. This must in turn reflect upon the effectiveness and efficiency of the portfolio. As is demonstrated within the Plan, effective asset management is an on-going discipline that requires the active support of senior decision makers and cross service input. Associated property procedures in Appendices: Appendix A : Asset Disposal Appendix B: Community Asset Transfer Appendix C: Leasehold Management 17