Property Services Annual Report
Property 2007
Foreword By Tom McBain, Divisional Director - Property
Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Property Services
department has met many challenges in recent years and now it faces
a new set which you will find outlined in this report.
From improving behind-the-scenes support for staff to making it
easier for the public to contact the Council, Property Services is
involved in all areas of the Council’s work.
Looking to the future, the Council has serious ambitions to
improve the economy of the whole area through the Bath Vision and
development plans for Keynsham and other areas - Property Services
is vital to achieving those goals.
As part of that, a review of the Commercial Estate has been
undertaken. A property board is being set up to carry out the role
of intelligent client on property matters and to help to optimise
the use of property assets to meet the Council’s and the public’s
needs.
Meanwhile the biggest project for many years is the substantial
rebuilding of the SouthGate shopping centre. This has been brought
through to its preparatory stages by Property Services staff and
work has now started on site.
My final words of introduction are to give praise to the many
staff of Property Services who continue to satisfy their customers,
meet their targets and often far exceed them.
Introduction to Property
Bath & North East Somerset Council owns approximately 1,200
property assets with a current capital value of more than £500
million. It holds this portfolio in two estates - the
Commercial Estate and the Corporate Estate. Property Services
is responsible for the management of all these properties.
Since the Council’s re-structuring in 2006, Property Services is
now a much larger organisation with more than 500 staff.
Property Services still has its roles of looking after the
Council’s commercial and operational estate but has now also
embraced four traded services
Operationally, the traditional property department combines the
skills of surveyors, engineers, valuers, architects and other
professionals to maintain the fabric of the property portfolio, to
meet the property needs of Council services day-by-day and to
ensure that the best return is achieved from the use of the assets.
Operational property management is made up of three sections: Asset
Management Planning, Client Services and Facilities Management.
Alongside this sits the Commercial Property Team which looks after
all aspects of the Commercial Estate including making sure
properties are being used efficiently, monitoring performance and
identifying development opportunities as well as optimising the
financial return. Construction and maintenance projects make up a
large part of the work of Property Services. As well as maintaining
the Council’s property portfolio, the Building Consultancy has
responsibility for delivering new buildings as well. Over the last
five years an ambitious refurbishment project has seen a number of
new school buildings developed across the area.
The new partners in Property Services are four internal traded
services:
Print - offering a printing and design service for every
other Council service.
Catering - school meals, community meals and
in-house catering.
Cleaning - cleaning the Council’s buildings and providing a
similar service for some external organisations.
Building & Engineering - providing a
front-line maintenance service for the Council’s properties. All of
these must demonstrate their competitiveness in price and quality
and demonstrate customer satisfaction.
All areas of Property Services are dependent on customer demand
for their workload and to earn income. Staffing levels are managed
through a balance of employees and agency staff to provide
flexibility and responsiveness to demand. You can read more about
all this work in the following chapters.
In our society, property ownership is perceived to be a good
value, long-term investment. The same is true for Bath & North
East Somerset Council.
It achieves income and capital growth from its property
assets. However the Council must also ensure that it makes
the best use of its property assets. It must make sure that it can
meet the current and future needs of its citizens by delivering
services at the right cost to the taxpayer. The Council must review
its reasons for holding every unit of property and maximise its
value to the Council, citizens and taxpayers by using or disposing
of it, as appropriate.
Although property generally holds its value, some of the
property held by the Council is no longer fit for its purpose. For
example, the Council’s homes for elderly persons would have been
costly to bring up to modern access requirements, and so some of
these are being replaced. The Council’s extensive property
holdings put it in a strong position locally. They give the Council
an influence over the property market in Bath and the surrounding
area. Careful management of this portfolio helps the Council
achieve its financial and operational objectives.
If you would like to read this report in full, it is
attached in the Related Documents Section to the right.
