Review of property proposed to reduce carbon emissions and savings

Members will be asked to consider and approve a list of offices for review and potential rationalisation as part of a 15 year capital strategy, at the Council meeting on 9 December.

The strategy seeks to deliver improvements in our estate by reducing the number of property assets, and therefore associated maintenance costs, reduce carbon emissions, release revenue savings of some £0.231m and achieve market value for some buildings estimated around £1.7m.

It is also intended to improve community access to essential services and identify opportunities for shared services with partners, increasing collaboration and also efficiency, by maximising the use of existing buildings.

There are a number of key drivers for change, including the need for flexible work space, to improve access to services, changing service delivery models, an ageing estate and importantly, the need to reduce our carbon footprint.

The initial focus for the asset rationalisation work, is on office accommodation, to create increased capacity in nine hub offices which will enable new ways of working, incorporating a hybrid model of home and office working for office based staff.

16 offices have been proposed for review, along with indicative timescales. The review will take into account options for future repurposing or disposal in line with corporate aims, staff wellbeing, service delivery improvement, community benefit, carbon neutral strategy, and financial best value.

The council has 60 general fund offices and in addition to those 16 offices identified for review, 16 are to be retained. 15 have no data and 13 are misclassified (either disposed of or not currently being used as office accommodation.

Approximately 21 properties have been classified as vacant or mothballed and a piece of work has been started to further investigate these properties to confirm their status and seek to expedite disposals wherever possible and appropriate.

Targeted condition surveys will provide an external view of the overall state of the current property portfolio. Initially, surveys will prioritise Depots and Stores, key sites which will require targeted investment. Once complete, all remaining sites which include a building will be surveyed within the next 18 months. The condition surveys will be vital towards making long terms decisions over properties, including whether they are rationalised or repurposed and where appropriate further investment can be targeted in a sustainable way, therefore informing the Council’s capital strategy.

Given that a significant percentage of the Council’s built estate continues to be heated through the combustion of oil and gas, which accounted for 28% of our total corporate carbon footprint in 2019/20 at a cost of £2m, the asset rationalisation programme is fundamental to the realisation of our corporate net zero requirements.

Members will also consider future capital spend as part of a medium term financial strategy at the meeting on 9 December.

Greater certainty for the estimated budget gap for 2022/23 may be possible over the coming weeks as details of the local government funding settlement become clear and if pay award negotiations come to a conclusion.

Whilst the average annual budget gap is around £15m, a gap anywhere in the range of £9m to £34m is considered possible for financial year 2022/23 alone, with a potential five-year gap up to £120m.

In this context, members will be asked to consider a 15-year capital investment programme to the value of £658.132m which aligns with the Council’s long term strategic aims and reflects long term budget planning. This is in addition to the current approved programme of projects which totals £281.762m, giving a combined programme value of £938.894m.

The level of capital investment that the Council has been making over recent years and intends to make over the next three years (over £100m in each of those years) cannot be sustained indefinitely without a substantial increase in the loans charges budget. The impact of not being able to sustain that level of investment may result in the overall condition of the Council’s assets deteriorating or may lead to the interruption of, or inability to sustain, current service levels. It is in the context of this outlook that Members need to consider the affordability of capital investment.

Depute Leader Alasdair Christie said: “The capital programme needs to balance the competing demands for the limited resources available to us. There are huge needs across our vast school estate, thousands of km of roads and bridges, as well as meeting statutory health and safety requirements. We have already made the biggest investment in recent years in our Highland roads. However, it is simply not possible to address all the needs identified within the proposed programme as a Council alone. We need to prioritise where funding will provide best value and maximise local economic opportunities.

“The proposed capital programme represents an ambitious and pro-active approach to addressing challenges, capitalising on the opportunities and investing in the long term future of the Highlands.”

Leader of the Council Margaret Davidson added: “The Council’s capital programme also needs to play a pivotal role in addressing the organisation’s duty to tackle climate change and achieve net zero. Rationalisation of our huge estate, getting rid of crumbling buildings and reducing the energy bills and repurposing some of the buildings we keep is essential.

“At the last full Council meeting, we agreed that we must reduce, re-use, recycle and re-purpose before considering the creation of new assets. Only where none of these options are deliverable or appropriate, should the focus be on building new, and even then these new assets must be as carbon neutral as possible. It must be recognised that this comes at a cost that has to be met up front, whilst the benefits can take many years to accrue.”