Asset Management Strategy

Key Objectives

Commercial:

  1. To actively grow the asset portfolio to provide a sustained and increasing revenue stream, using prudential borrowing (or other methods of low cost finance) as necessary.
  2. To seek opportunities to acquire land and develop employment or residential units for communities, by partnering with developers of mixed use schemes to help navigate the Council through the planning and Section 106 process.
  3. Where possible, improve the sustainability of communities by developing units in appropriate locations that foster key industries, i.e. marine and fishing.
  4. To offer a range of scale within the portfolio, with a bias towards the smaller start-up sector.

HQ buildings:

  1. To maintain a high quality, fit for purpose environment for SWD staff based on an agile worker profile.
  2. Reduce the running cost of both buildings by maximising tenant occupancy.
  3. Improve facilities as required to support a green travel policy.

Land holdings:

  1. To transfer public open space to parishes or community groups when it is in both the communities and Council's best interest to do so. Safeguards will be put in place to ensure that any transferred public open space is protected from further development.
  2. Dispose of non-strategic land as soon as is practicable, in order to reduce maintenance liabilities.
  3. Where opportunities exist to bring forward development on council land, to partner when necessary with those in the industry to benefit from best practice, efficiency and reduced programme.
  4. To acquire land with development potential where there is a compelling business case and it supports wider Asset Management Strategy objectives.
  5. Take steps to protect the long term interests of the council by way of good land management and security.

Residential:

  1. Gather intelligence on housing need using members, parishes and communities, supported by official data, to prioritise residential development by the council.
  2. To commence a limited programme of housing development on existing council land, that is appropriate to the site, (i.e. both open market and affordable) utilising a strategy of reinvestment predicated on a mixture of rental and disposal.
  3. To grow the investment portfolio of housing stock when it also meets the needs of the housing team.
  4. To review and rationalise the existing investment portfolio of housing stock based on the needs of the housing team and re-invest capital receipts into the portfolio.