Asset Management Strategy 2007 - 2011
2.0 Strategic Background
2.1 Outline and Purpose of
Document
The Council is responsible for the delivery of a range of public
services across the district and plays a key role in community
leadership; translating the expectations and aspirations of the
community into its own actions and influencing the actions of
others.
This document is very important to Thanet Council and its
ability to make decisions with regard to investing in the
community's assets, ensuring the best decisions are made for the
future of Thanet and its residents. The purpose of this strategy is
to provide a clear system of understanding the value and condition
of the property the Council holds. This will ensure that the
maximum benefit from the property portfolio is achieved.
Balancing a disposal programme with the production on income to
invest in retained property.
The structure and content of this document aims to tell the
reader why asset management is an essential part of the Thanet
Corporate Plan. It explains why we own assets and how we will
regularly review those assets to understand their value.
Thereby enabling decision taking to be transparent, with
consultation a central theme to potential disposal.
2.2 Council in Context
Thanet is a unique coastal District. Its community enjoys a rich
coastal environment, with 20 miles of still largely unspoiled
coastline. However, by contrast the District remains the third most
deprived in the South East, with six wards which rank in the 10%
most deprived in England. Despite its location in the Nation's most
prosperous region, unemployment is significantly higher than the
National Average. Across most socio-economic indices Thanet
residents will fare worse than most of Kent and the South East.
Around 33% of Thanet residents have no qualifications and the
average weekly income is £90 less than that of the average for the
South East. This sense of contrast also extends to the area's
economic infrastructure, which has been largely shaped by the
history, fortunes and economics of the English seaside holiday.
This is changing. The Council has worked hard over the
years, and a big increase in new development has occurred.
New infrastructure, albeit belatedly, is following, including
faster rail linkage to London. Improvement is reflected in
consecutive assessments of the Council itself. Recent Audit
Commission inspections have been increasingly positive.
Progress has also been recognised in other forms of external
review, such as Investors in People, and receiving approved ILM
Centre status by the Institute of Leadership and Management.
Capacity. Improved performance management has allowed the
Council to focus on areas of weakness and areas seen as priorities
by local residents, decisions being informed by extensive
consultation with customers.
With the publication of the 2007-11 Corporate Plan, the Council
will provide high quality services in the most cost effective and
efficient manner possible. This will be supported by an Asset
Management Strategy that enables decision-making against a
background of accurate and up to date information.
2.3 Summary of Types of Properties
Owned
The Council is a significant property owner, the history of the
three seaside towns, Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, has
resulted in a substantial legacy of property being held by the
Council. Obviously, land and property is needed by the Council to
deliver its own services, most visibly refuse collection, street
cleansing and working with Thanet Leisure Force to deliver leisure
services to the community. There is, however, a reduced need to own
large amounts of office space.
Much of the Council's land and property, like the footpaths and
promenades, or meeting halls, do not on their own produce much
income, but these assets are very important to local people;
they are described as "Community Assets".
The properties owned by the council are categorised as explained
in section 4. They include the following. Most are very
well known to residents. So unsurprisingly residents want to
have their say in how the assets are used. This Strategy
acknowledges and welcomes public consultation.
- Thanet District Council operational – our main offices in
Margate, but also the range of sub-offices and depots our employees
work from.
These cover our three key sports centres,
Hartsdown Leisure Centre, Ramsgate Sports Centre and Ramsgate
Swimming Pool, providing leisure services through our contractor
Thanet Leisure Force. This also covers the parks and public spaces
the Council holds. The Council understands the important value
these spaces create for the community, and the recent "I Love Dane
Park" campaign has emphasised this.
Properties for entertainment mostly date
from the 'seaside resort' period of our history, dating back to the
early 20th century. Buildings such as the Winter
Gardens, which hold a sense of history of the area, but with
changes in entertainment, have seen a decline in demand.
Thanet holds title to very distinctive
infrastructure, of great value to the Council, but also to the
community and the heritage of the area. In this category the
Council owns 20 miles of coastline. The district is lucky to have
an almost complete lower promenade, giving excellent public
access. Public surveys have identified the value of this to
not only residents but also visitors. The maintenance costs of
these engineered structures is estimated to be massive. Within this
category, the Council also owns the Port and Harbours which are
valuable assets delivering income.
2.4 How we Fund Investment
Capital investment on General Fund assets can be funded by:
- Capital Receipts
- Borrowing
- Revenue
- Grants and Contributions
- Income
The Council's General Fund revenue budget is under considerable
pressure and a budget gap is forecast for future years. This
forecast gap is being tackled by the Council's Value, Improvement
and Review Programme 2007/11, but there are unlikely to be any
revenue resources available to fund capital works to the Council's
properties over the term of this Asset Management Strategy.
Due to the General Fund revenue budget pressures unsupported
borrowing will generally only be undertaken where there is a
neutral or positive impact on the revenue budget, for example
invest to save projects.
Therefore the Council needs to generate capital receipts from
disposals of assets, in order to fund the major part of the capital
programme. A procedure to identify surplus properties is set
out in sections 5 and 6 of the Strategy. It is based on
monitoring and review of the Asset Register. In this way
officers bring forward reports for Members to consider and
decide.
Grants and contributions towards capital expenditure on assets
are actively sought. For example the European Regional Development
Fund provided over £1million towards the cost of building an
Innovation Centre. Externally funded schemes can however add to the
revenue budget due to running costs of the buildings or maintenance
requirements specified within the grant conditions (section 6 of
the Strategy).
2.5 Financial Situation
The Council's Capital Programme is focussed on achievement of
the Corporate Plan. With projects like improving swimming
pool provision being a major expense. The figure below shows
how increased spending to provide what residents want can only be
provided through the Asset Management Strategy. The Council's
Block Grant from Government, and the proportion of Council Tax is
allowed to spend is required to maintained existing services.
An annual revenue programme of works to the Council's assets is
in place to meet the cost of reactive repairs, recurring
maintenance and some planned works.
A big repair deficit to the property portfolio has been
reported. This Strategy describes how records are being
updated to enable decisions on whether to dispose or invest in
individual properties to be taken against empirical data. In
general it is not in the Council's, and residents, best interest
for Thanet to retain properties in poor repair, especially if such
property is not being put to good use.
General Fund Revenue Expenditure Projections – Asset
Related
2.6 Organisational Structure
Asset Management is organised within teams - Estate Management,
Coastal Engineering and Surveying. These teams operate under
the leadership of the Building Control and Property Manager within
the Development Services Department. Of equal importance, because
of the links to the Medium Term Financial Strategy are the Head of
Resources and her staff. Plus, during the consultation phase
on the annual round of potential disposals, the Corporate
Communications Manager and her team.
The work of this group feeds into the Asset Management Strategy
Group, membership of which comprises:
- Portfolio Holder, Economic Prosperity and Culture
- Strategic Director
- Head of Development Services
- Building Control and Property Manager
- Assistant Financial Services Manager / Head of Resources
- Estate Surveyor
- Property Surveyor (Major Developments)
- Planning (Strategic Sites) Manager
- Corporate Communications Manager
The Group meets regularly to review reports about the Asset
Register, and consider potential disposal/developments to bring
forward to Cabinet. The Major Developments staff represented
on the Group have a key role; they make the links, often
through preparation of schemes to secure planning consent, between
release of assets and achievement of the objectives within the
Corporate Plan, in particular those regarding economic regeneration
prosperity.
The Asset Management Strategy Group produces reports on
potential disposals, for consideration of Members. Section 7
of this document – the Asset Management Plan 2007-2011 explains how
reports are brought forward for consideration and decision.
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Statement