Issue - meetings

(Report of the Assistant Director, Assets)

The Chair welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Risk and Customer Services and the Assistant Director, Assets for this item which was to provide the Committee with an update on the Asset Management work completed to date and to provide information on the next steps.

The Assistant Director reported that condition surveys of both Council Housing stock and non-housing properties had been completed.  Part of this work had been interrupted by the pandemic. In addition a gap analysis of our existing approach was undertaken to support the update to the Asset Management Strategy. The condition survey work provided the Council with details of costs to maintain the assets covered in the reports to currently acceptable standards.  The data did not provide information on any future improvements which could be required to meet any changing legislation for example to achieve zero carbon targets.  It was reported that work would now be required to start mapping the investment required against the income received from assets.

This work had identified:

1.    For the HRA property portfolio, an investment need of circa. £128.2m over the next 30 years based on meeting the current Decent Homes Standard.

2. For the non-housing properties, an investment need of circa. £5.6m over the next 30 years based on maintaining to a reasonable standard.

The Committee commented on and sought clarifications in the following areas:

·         Why the previous asset management strategy had not been implemented, where it was reported that the strategy had largely been followed, however, the reasons for not formally implementing it were not known.

·         Whether not formally implementing the asset management strategy previously had impacted on the gap analysis undertaken recently, where it was reported that this could have been the case in some areas although the practice on site of asset management had been consistent.

·         Whether the £128m was an inflated price due to not implementing the asset management strategy, where it was reported that this figure was for the housing stock and related to maintaining housing to the Decent Homes Standard, for example replacement kitchens, bathrooms, heating systems, windows and ongoing upkeep and the asset management in this area had always been designed to achieve the Decent Homes Standard.

·         Whether the zero carbon policy was achievable in this area, where it was reported that this was an ongoing piece of work.

·         The composition of the Asset Strategy Steering Group which it was reported comprised the Chief Executive, the Executive Director, Finance, the Executive Director, Communities, the Assistant Director Finance and Assistant Director Assets and which reported to the Portfolio Holder.

·         Whether there were some parts of our estate which were not as attractive to be let, or whether the question was more that there was not the demand for certain types of the estate.  The Assistant Director reported that whilst the Council owned limited stock in the town centre and whilst there were a couple of long term empty units in the town centre, the Council’s retail stock on housing estates and on industrial units  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51