Asset Management Plan 2025

The council holds a significant and varied property portfolio, both land and buildings, which it has acquired historically for many different purposes. The intention of this Asset Management Plan is to set out the objectives and actions for the ongoing strategic management of the council’s land and buildings, to support the outcomes of the Council Plan, achieve the priority objectives and help deliver the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy whilst ensuring the effective management of risk. 

The scale of the council’s property portfolio creates many opportunities for it to achieve positive outcomes across the city and support the council’s objectives and improve financial sustainability. It also creates significant complex challenges; a large complex property portfolio requires a substantial amount of council resources and must be suitably and effectively managed to mitigate cost and minimise risk. 

This Asset Management Plan will provide a structured process to asset management for all general fund land and buildings, in line with the council’s 4 outcomes and learning framework incorporating the 5 pillars of a learning organisation, to ensure value for money from property in serving the needs of the organisation and supporting a better Brighton & Hove for everyone. 

This Asset Management Plan excludes Housing Revenue Account Assets for which there is an emerging Housing Asset Management Strategy and Public Highways Assets, for which there is an existing Highway Asset Management Policy and Strategy. 

1.1 Council structure

The Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) is formed of 3 Corporate Directors for:

• Families Children and Wellbeing
• Homes and Adult Social Care
• City Operations

It is led by the Chief Executive Officer. In addition, the:

• Director of People and Innovation
• Director of Finance and Property
• Director of Governance and Law

are also permanent members of CLT and form the Central Hub.

The Chief Executive is ultimately accountable for the council’s responsibilities as an employer under Health and Safety legislation and is detailed in the Council’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy. The Cabinet Member for Finance and City Regeneration is responsible for:

(a) Ensuring the effective strategic management of the council’s property, including its Education Capital, Estates and Building Surveying functions;

(b) To oversee the management of corporately held property and land declared surplus to the requirements of the service area;

(c) To authorise the acquisition or disposal of any land held by the council providing that any proposal for the transfer of housing land which requires the consent of the Secretary of State shall be referred to full council with recommendations.

Operational responsibility for the management of the council’s property assets is shared across the council with different directorates and departments responsible for strategic oversight and governance, maintenance and service provision and budget management.

This is summarised at Appendix 1 along with key stakeholders.

1.2 Learning organisation

The delivery of the Asset Management Plan will be supported by the council’s learning framework and in return should embed the principles of our ways of working learning framework to support the council to become a learning organisation.

These principles are outlined below.

Be connected

The overriding intention of this Asset Management Plan is to articulate a one council approach with shared objectives for the strategic management of the council’s assets and targets for delivery through a collaborative approach. As illustrated in the diagram at Appendix 1, the management of the council’s estate is delivered through a collaborative process across the council.

Be confident

By setting out the strategic objectives and being explicit of our targets we can act with confidence and ambition to ensure delivery within the framework of the Asset Management Plan, secure that the plan delivers to the council’s own strategic outcomes.

Be innovative and creative

Creative solutions will be necessary to ensure our targets are achieved. Solutions will be based on accurate and complete information relating to the performance of our land and buildings to ensure a strategic approach is adopted and avoid a piecemeal approach.

Be diverse and inclusive

The right skills and knowledge will be needed to support and deliver the plan through a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Be healthy and psychologically safe

We need an operational estate that is fit for purpose as modern office accommodation, which will require us to reduce the amount of operational property that we use, to ensure that this smaller estate can be better maintained within the budgets available

1.3 Local Government Reorganisation and Mayoral Combined County Authority

Any future changes to the council’s structure and/or boundary will be reviewed and reflected in a revision to the Asset Management Plan.

2.1 Council Plan 2023 to 2027 

The council plan provides us with a strategic framework to guide the council’s decision making. It sets out our overall vision and our priorities for the future. The council’s vision is for Brighton & Hove to be a city to be proud of, a healthy, fair and inclusive city where everyone thrives. 

Whilst the Asset Management Plan potentially supports all outcomes of the Council Plan the key outcomes directly impact the management of its assets are: 

A city to be proud of:

• Investing in our city - Our goal is to develop a flourishing and inclusive local economy that attracts and nurtures businesses and talent.
• An accessible, clean and sustainable city - Our goal is to deliver an accessible, clean, and sustainable environment that we can all be proud of. 

A fair and inclusive city:

• Homes for everyone - Our goal is to deliver accessible, affordable, and high-quality homes for all residents of Brighton & Hove. 

A healthy city where people thrive:

• A better future for children and young people - Our goal is to keep children safe, for no child, young person or family to be left behind, and to provide high quality, inclusive, and accessible services. 

A responsive city with well run services:

• Our goal is to be a learning council, with responsive and well-run services, and a council that listens to its communities to deliver positive outcomes for the city. 

2.2 Corporate Leadership Plan 

The Corporate Leadership Plan outlines the key activities the council is undertaking to bring the Council Plan to life and deliver essential and statutory functions. 

Set out below are those activities that are directly relevant to and supported by the Asset Management Plan. 

• Deliver the Sports Facilities Investment Plan (SFIP) to improve indoor sports facilities in the city.
• Lead the city’s major regeneration projects to protect heritage assets and attract investment to our city.
• Deliver an Economic Plan for the city to grow the local economy, creating more jobs for city residents and building community wealth.
• Prepare and implement the City Plan to shape development and design of land use and the city's built environment, including infrastructure to meet the city's needs.
• Ensure the city remains a leading national and international visitor destination, promoting the city as a place to host events and conferences that deliver an economic benefit.
• Drive the growth and development of the city's creative, culture and heritage sectors, effectively managing key relationships with stakeholders to protect the uniqueness of Brighton & Hove as a creative destination.
• Develop a new programme to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies and help the city transition to carbon net zero.
• Implement the objectives of the City Downland Estate Plan (CDEP) to protect and enhance the land for future generations.
• Build new council homes to meet the number of homes required in the city.
• Deliver the city's Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy 2021 to 2026 to protect and improve outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Continue investment in our education buildings to ensure learning environments are fit for purpose.
• Develop and implement the Corporate Modernisation portfolio of projects and programmes to enable delivery of savings and the Council Plan.
• Modernise and maintain the council’s operational buildings so they remain fit for purpose, safe and secure.
• Deliver value for money for the council by providing in-house architectural and building surveying services to design and maintain sustainable development in the city.
• Optimise the use of council assets through generating capital receipts, increasing income, and delivering efficiencies.
• Develop a 4-year balanced medium term financial plan and a fully funded capital programme. 

2.3 Medium term financial strategy 

The Council’s financial position is very challenging. Demand for statutory services such as children’s and adults social care and provision of temporary accommodation for homeless families has risen significantly, far in excess of the level of funding provided from central government. The council has a budget gap of £95 million over the period from 2026 to 2030. 

The council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) provides the financial framework to support the delivery of the city’s priorities and set out the resources that will be available to meet them. The MTFS is updated annually and covers both revenue and capital budgets making medium term forecasts about expenditure, funding and other resources:

• Appendix 4 - Medium Term Financial Strategy
• Appendix 5 - Capital Strategy including the Capital Investment Programme

To close the budget gap over the period 2026 to 2030, the council will need to reduce its operational property maintenance and running costs. The aim is for this to reduce by 25% by 2030. 

Capital receipts from the sale of surplus land and buildings are an important capital resource providing funding for the capital investment programme and supporting critical invest-to-save transformation and innovation programmes. The capital receipts requirement in the MTFS is approximately £50 million over the next 4 years, funding capital projects as well as transformation projects. 

These transformation projects will enable the council to reduce demand pressures such as adults and children’s social care placements, investing in prevention, as well as modernising the council through investment in digital. This requirement will increase further depending on capital investment in areas such as increasing the supply of temporary accommodation. 

Capital receipts are under severe pressure due to competing demands for the resources and the certainty and speed with which capital receipts can be realised. Identifying a pipeline of disposals to generate capital receipts is therefore important to support the council’s ambitions and sustainability. 

In summary, key opportunities to generate capital receipts are likely to come from: 

• reducing administrative and civic buildings and disposing of part or whole buildings
• lease re-gearing opportunities
• further commercial asset disposals – this will need to consider the loss of future revenue and the impact on the council’s economic growth aspirations
• school sites – this is a major potential area for generating receipts following closure of 2 school sites owned by the council
• further rationalisation of service-led operational buildings and access points.
• disposal of agricultural assets

The Asset Management Plan objectives provide the framework within which we will secure operational and financial benefits of the council’s General Fund from land and buildings to the support the Council Plan, Corporate Leadership Plan and Medium Term Financial Strategy. 

These are to: 

1. Identify sites and capital receipts for delivery or purchase of Affordable Housing and Temporary Accommodation.
2. Ensure council operational assets and buildings are safe, well maintained and are used effectively and efficiently to meet service need.
3. Deliver environmentally sustainable solutions as part of our property maintenance programme.
4. Provide accommodation to support the city economy and local businesses and city regeneration and preserve the city’s culture and heritage.
5. Seek value for money and best use of our assets to achieve income and capital receipts and reduce expenditure to support the MTFS.

4.1 Operational 

The council owns 547 operational assets, land and buildings providing accommodation and supporting services across the council. Our analysis shows of these 105 (19%) are education assets and the portfolio also includes:

• waste sites
• museums
• allotments
• open space
• playgrounds and paddling pools
• car parks
• cemeteries
• family hubs
• civic offices
• sports pavilions
• messrooms and stores
• libraries
• nurseries
• public toilets
• the Brighton Centre
• The Brighton Dome and Corn Exchange
• residential homes for adults and children and supported accommodation
• sports and leisure facilities
• youth centres

A more detailed summary is provided at Appendix 2. The council has adopted a Corporate Landlord model to manage some of its operational assets; centralising budgets and adopting a corporate approach to health and safety management and building maintenance.

4.2 Commercial 

The commercial property portfolio consists of 365 assets and has been acquired over time, often for purposes other than property investment, such as road widening schemes. As such it was not originally acquired for income production and does not therefore conform to institutional property investment principles, where risk is spread. It has largely remained unchanged for several decades. 

The portfolio provides income to support the council’s financial strategy and also supports the council’s Corporate Investment Programme through the provision of capital receipts from strategic disposals and lease regears. 

The portfolio contains a wide range of property types including:

• nurseries
• sports clubs
• cafés
• pubs
• industrial units
• offices
• banks and a cinema

but is heavily weighted towards retail, and is therefore reliant upon the performance of this sector. 

The portfolio includes some prime retail units on Western Road but also a lot of secondary (North Laine) and tertiary neighbourhood properties. Their location and age present a higher risk and they are poorer performing assets attracting lower market rents and tenants who are less financially resilient. 

The portfolio also contains several large multi let commercial properties, where tenants contribute towards a service charge for running and maintaining the properties. These properties have suffered from an accumulative lack of capital investment by the council and all require some level of repair or improvement. 

They continue to be important assets for economic development supporting local businesses and creatives and includes:

• Hove Technology Centre
• Industrial House;
• Lyndean House
• Phoenix House. 

However the demand for office space has reduced post COVID-19 as home and hybrid working has increased, which has created a surplus of space in the market leading to voids within the council’s portfolio. 

New England House was council’s largest multi let office and light industrial building, providing affordable accommodation to over 100 creative and digital enterprises, supporting local businesses and contributing to the success of this part of the local economy. However, in 2025 the building has had to close due to breaches in fire safety and a strategy for the building’s future has yet to be agreed. 

The portfolio’s industrial properties and estates, including Shoreham Airport are generally leased on long leases. 

A more detailed summary is provided at Appendix 2. 

Most of the portfolio is managed externally by commercial agents on behalf of the council; however there are also a number of lower value properties – properties sold on long leases and buildings supporting community organisations and associations, that are managed in house by the Estates Team.

4.3 Agricultural 

The Agricultural property portfolio was originally acquired to protect the aquifer and its retention not only provides an income but also supports the objectives of the City Downland Estate Plan (CDEP) to: 

• reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and store it
• enhance wildlife and their natural habitats
• improve health and wellbeing, by providing public access to nature
• provide an affordable and sustainable local food supply, through farmers, producers and community food growing. 

There are 52 assets in total though most of the land is comprised of 14 main farms. The estate is managed on behalf of the council by external rural agents. The portfolio is tenanted, with most of the estate let on Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) tenancies and the management of the land is reliant on the financial viability of the tenants’ farm businesses to not only provide income through rent payments but also to support and deliver the CDEP objectives. 

A more detailed summary is provided at Appendix 2. 

4.4 Seafront 

The Seafront portfolio includes an almost complete land ownership of seafront properties from Hove Lagoon to Saltdean and includes 217 assets including retail, cafes, bars, nightclubs, retail as well as sports and leisure facilities and the Volks Railway. 

The portfolio is managed inhouse by the council’s estates team on behalf of and in collaboration with the Seafront Development manager to enhance the seafront environment and provision of services and facilities to support tourism and provide an income to support the service. 

A more detailed summary is provided at Appendix 2.

This is summarised at Appendix 1.

5.1 Governance 

As set out in the Scheme of Delegations to Officers (part 2F) there are general delegations for officers to advise the Director Finance and Property of any property considered to be surplus, following which the property will return to the control of Property and Finance. The Director Property and Finance holds the officer delegations for approving transactions in relation to land and property management, excluding Housing Revenue Account (HRA) properties. 

Transactions that are key decisions with financial implications above £1 million are authorised by Cabinet. Determination of the value of the asset is sought via independent land and property consultants and advisors to assess the market value at the time of valuation. The Capital Board makes recommendations for Cabinet on capital investment proposals. There is an intention for a Member Housing Supply Board to be set up and will make recommendations to Cabinet on appropriations between the general fund and the HRA to facilitate delivery of affordable housing. 

5.2 Ownership 

Ownership of assets within the council is dependent upon the purpose of the original land or building acquisition by the council, subject to any subsequent appropriations. 

5.3 Budget management 

All of the commercial portfolio and much of the operational portfolio is managed under a Corporate Landlord (CL) model whereby budgets are held centrally and responsibility for building maintenance and health and safety compliance is held centrally. 

This includes: 

• civic offices
• parks, cemetery and environmental services buildings
• libraries
• Adult Social Care properties
• family centres 

CL budgets are held by: 

• Estates Team (Finance and Property) – National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR)
• Energy and Water Team (City Operations) – Utilities
• Facilities and Building Services (Premises) Team (People and Innovation) – Planned preventative maintenance, reactive maintenance, health and safety compliance 

For properties and land excluded from the CL model, the services hold and manage the revenue budgets for the properties and are responsible for the delivery of maintenance and health and safety compliance with support from strategic property and Health and Safety Wellbeing and Building services. 

This includes: 

• schools
• seafront portfolio
• agricultural portfolio
• museums and Brighton Dome and Corn Exchange (contracted out/externally operated)
• sports facilities (contracted out/externally operated)
• city parks (excluding buildings)
• car parks
• the Brighton Centre 

In addition to the revenue budgets associated with property maintenance there are 3 capital budgets held by strategic property (Finance and property). The Building Surveying Team are responsible for managing the Planned Maintenance Budget (PMB) and Asset Management Fund (AMF). The Estates Team is responsible for the Commercial Asset Investment Fund (CAIF). 

5.4 Service delivery 

For CL properties, the provision of services relating to reactive maintenance, planned preventative maintenance and health and safety compliance is held by Health and Safety Wellbeing and Building services. The service also supports schools who purchase services through the council’s Services to Schools offer. 

Within strategic property the Building Surveying Team provide professional advice and contract and project management expertise for planned maintenance and buildings projects, such as refurbishment, for all properties including schools, Adult Social Care properties, museums and The Dome. 

The Education Capital Strategy Team support families, children and wellbeing (FCW), managing the education capital budgets, supporting maintenance and projects and managing the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts. 

The Estates Team has responsibility for the management of the commercial and agricultural portfolios and manages the contracts for the outsourced operational management of these portfolios held by SHW for the commercial portfolio and Knight Frank for the Agricultural Estate. The Estates Team’s seafront surveyor provides commercial property expertise and support to the Seafront Development Manager for the management of the seafront portfolio. The Estates Team also includes the City Downland Estate Programme Manager responsible for the implementation and delivery of the City Downland Estate Plan (CDEP), and the One Public Estate (OPE) Programme Manager responsible for overseeing and reporting on OPE funding and projects. 

The Estates Team also provides professional commercial property advice and oversees all commercial property transactions, including disposals and tenancy management (excluding HRA properties). 

For services whose properties are not included within the CL model, including sports facilities, museums and The Dome, car parks and the Brighton Centre, the services manage the properties directly in conjunction with their operators, leaseholders and CIC’s, with support from strategic property and health and safety wellbeing and building services. 

For those third parties with whom the council has contracted for the provision of services within its buildings, such as the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust and Brighton Festival Society Limited, there are responsibilities with those third parties for the management and maintenance of the properties in conjunction with the council. 

Workstyles provides support to directorates enabling them to provide excellent customer services through a proactive response to change in the modernisation of our workspace accommodation and the effective utilisation of our civic operational properties. 

The Estate Regeneration Team works with:

• local resident associations
• ward councillors
• council staff
• external partners 

to improve council estates and neighbourhoods, whilst making best use of council housing land and buildings to deliver new, affordable rented homes that the city needs. The team delivers new homes through the council's direct delivery programme 'New Homes for Neighbourhoods', and through the Homes for Brighton & Hove Joint Venture partnership with Hyde Housing Association. 

The team is also engaged on a large-scale major regeneration programme to redevelop large panel system (LPS) blocks in the city. 

The Architecture and Design Team provide inhouse architectural services across the council and for external partnering organisations, including design, contract administration and feasibility studies. 

The Net Zero Team lead on delivering the council's Net Zero plans for the corporate estate and enabling the net zero transition of the city as a whole. The Brighton & Hove Decarbonisation Pathways Report, outlines the scale of change required and identifies key strategic actions to prioritise in achieving Net Zero. 

The Parks and Leisure Team manages parks pavilion projects, parks and open spaces, grounds maintenance, cemeteries, allotments, conservation and ranger teams, tree teams, sports and leisure facilities as well as Stanmer nature reserve. 

The Economic Development team leads on growing a fairer, greener and more productive city economy in line with the adopted Economic Plan 2024 to 2027, which sets out the role the council plays in economic growth including through effective use of our assets to stimulate growth and investment in the city. The team also works closely with city business networks and our business community to deliver an evolving business support offer via the Brighton & Hove Growth Hub. 

5.5 Stakeholders

Council services occupying our operational portfolio are important stakeholders whose service delivery is dependent upon the provision of accommodation to meet service need. In addition to families children and wellbeing as a council service our schools are also important stakeholders who directly influence the accommodation strategy for our education services. 

In order to deliver the capital programme and transformation fund in accordance with the Medium Term Financial Strategy, finance are reliant on the Estates Team delivering a programme of property disposals to achieve capital receipts and also mitigate property operational costs to support budget delivery. 

Housing work closely with the Estates Regeneration Team and the Estates Team to identify sites for the delivery of affordable housing and temporary accommodation. 

Our One Public Estate (OPE) partners including: 

• Adur and Worthing councils
• Mid Sussex District Council
• Lewes and Eastbourne Councils
• Rother District Council
• Crawley Borough Council 

are supported by our OPE programme manager as well as: 

• Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT)
• Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT)
• Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (BSUH)
• Brighton & Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (B&HCCG)
• East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (ESF&R)
• Sussex Police
• South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB) 

The Downland Advisory Panel (DAP) are a group of external stakeholders who provide strategic advice to the council on the implementation of the City Downland Estate Plan (CDEP). 

The Seafront Development Board will help to shape a vision and encourage investment in the city’s seafront. Members will advise on the development, regenerations and management of the seafront, as well as help to unlock opportunities for development, investment and community engagement. 

The Brighton & Hove Growth Board is set up to embed the business voice in council thinking. Members will feed in challenges and opportunities within the city’s economy that may support or impact on the council’s aspirations. 

5.6 Strategies 

The Capital Asset Strategy was approved at Cabinet in April 2025 and sets out the principles for managing and identifying disposals to provide capital receipts for the council’s Innovation and Transformation Fund and Capital Investment Programme. A copy of the Capital Asset Strategy is included in Appendix 3. 

The Sports Facilities Investment Plan (SFIP) provides a high-level Investment Plan and future Management Options Appraisal for the provision of modern, attractive, cost effective facilities, which can better serve the sport and leisure needs of local residents, and increase activity levels and participation into the future. 

The City Downland Estates Plan (CDEP) provides a whole estate plan for the long-term strategic management of the council’s agricultural estate to support biodiversity, sustainable farming, local food production, public access, culture and heritage, and supporting carbon mitigation and resilience. 

Our People Strategy sets out the council’s commitments to its workforce to support recruitment and retention of staff. 

The Carbon Neutral 2030 Programme includes actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance biodiversity, and adapt to climate change. The Decarbonisation Pathways Study and Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment provide a new evidence base from which to identify and prioritise actions for the greatest impact on carbon reduction and climate resilience. 

• Brighton & Hove City Council 2030 Carbon Neutral Programme
• Brighton & Hove Decarbonisation Pathways Report
• Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

The Open Space Strategy and Playing Pitch Strategy provide guidance for the management of the council’s open spaces within which the occupation, use and management of our buildings contribute. 

The council’s Community Asset Transfer policy sets out the process for the transfer of community assets to third sector organisations. 

The Economic Plan was approved at full council in October 2024 and sets out a vision to strengthen and grow the city’s economy to 2027. The Plan also sets out a longer-term 10-year framework for growth and recognises the roles that the council can play in delivering a more prosperous Brighton & Hove. 

The council holds a significant property estate with portfolios retained and managed for different purposes and to support different objectives to deliver the council’s plans. To fulfil the Asset Management Plan, the council will continually review its property holdings to ensure their retention supports the objectives of the council plan, distilled into 5 objectives for the strategic management of the council’s assets. 

6.1 Identify sites for delivery of affordable housing and temporary accommodation. 

To support delivery of the Asset Management Plan, targets and timelines are to:

• support the council’s Housing Strategy ambition to deliver at least 2,000 affordable homes over the lifetime of the strategy
• support the council’s ambition to increase the supply of temporary accommodation by approximately 200 homes
• provide supported accommodation for care leaving young people in the city
• release urban fringe sites with housing allocations in the city plan
• identify sites within our operational portfolios that no longer meet service requirements and have potential for development or conversion
• identify sites for acquisition or development of temporary accommodation
• identify sites for acquisition or development of accommodation for asylum seekers. 

6.2 Ensure council operational assets and buildings are safe, well maintained and are used effectively and efficiently to meet service need

To support delivery of the Asset Management Plan, targets and timelines are to:

• conduct utilisation surveys on occupancy across our civic operational properties to manage effectiveness of workspaces in our buildings
• prepare an Operational Accommodation Strategy
• obtain approval for a strategy to achieve the long term repair, maintenance, occupation and sustainability of Brighton Town Hall
• make the best use of our operational assets to meet service needs
• review our Heritage Assets
• prioritise our financial resources to ensure compliance with statutory and health and safety legislation including fire safety, water hygiene and asbestos management
• prioritise our financial resources to maintain the structure and fabric of our buildings and electrical and mechanical installations of our buildings
• put all of our planned preventative maintenance and health and safety compliance tasks onto Concerto the council’s Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) system to make management and monitoring more effective and accurate
• complete a continuous programme of condition surveys and where appropriate produce a 5 year planned maintenance schedule for our operational buildings
• commercialise surplus operational assets
• rationalise our operational estate to reduce operational costs by 25% by 2030 to ensure we hold a portfolio that we have the financial resource to manage and maintain
• provide sufficient primary and secondary school places
• invest in our school accommodation to support provision of Special Educational Need and Disabilities (SEND) services

6.3 Deliver more environmentally sustainable solutions as part of our property maintenance programme

To support delivery of the Asset Management Plan, targets and timelines are to:

• implement sustainable and energy efficient solutions within our maintenance programmes and decarbonise our assets (energy efficiency and renewable energy generation)
• target available funding for energy efficiency improvements to our operational portfolio
• implement CDEP actions to increase carbon sequestration and resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land management
• include adaptation and resilience to a changing climate in the technical considerations for projects and decision making
• support the council’s Circular Economy Action Plan (Brighton & Hove Circular Economy Action Plan 2020 to 2035)

6.4 Provide accommodation to support the city economy and local businesses and city regeneration, culture and heritage

To support delivery of the Asset Management Plan, targets and timelines are to:

• ensure the Seafront Portfolio provides suitable accommodation for a wide range of retail, hospitality and leisure uses adding to the city’s vibrancy and unique offer for visitors and residents
• ensure our commercial and operational portfolios helps support key elements of the city economy including tourism and creative and digital sectors, reflecting the diversity of our economic base
• be sensitive to and protective of the city’s historic and cultural heritage. 6.5 Seek value for money and best use of our assets to achieve income and capital receipts and reduce expenditure to support the MTFS

6.5 Seek value for money and best use of our assets to achieve income and capital receipts and reduce expenditure to support the MTFS

To support delivery of the Asset Management Plan, targets and timelines are to:

• commercialise surplus operational assets
• use our assets to support the city’s transition to Net Zero
• rationalise our commercial portfolio, retaining higher performing and lower risk assets to support revenue budgets
• maximise income from our agricultural portfolio by identifying opportunities for alternative uses (including Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and Electrical Vehicle Charging).
• support the implementation of the City Downland Estate Plan (CDEP)
• support energy efficiency and renewable energy generation
• deliver SFIP projects to providing financially sustainable leisure facilities
• implement Community Asset Transfers for sports facilities in parks to enable community organisations and groups to take ownership and responsibility for pavilions and facilities
• identify assets for disposal (including surplus schools) to achieve capital receipts to meet the targets of our MTFS to achieve £50 million by 2030.

Governance:

• Cabinet
• Director Finance and Property
• Capital Board
• Housing Supply Board

City operations:

• Estate regeneration
• Architecture and design
• Car parks (budget holder)
• Brighton Centre (budget holder)
• Net Zero
• Energy and water (CL budget holder)
• Seafront (budget holder)
• City parks
• Sports facilities (budget holder)

Families, children and wellbeing:

• Education and learning (budget holder)
• Children's Social Care (budget holder)

Homes and Adult Social Care:

• Homes and investment
• Housing regeneration 

Finance and property:

• Building Surveying (budget holder)
• Education capital (budget holder)
• Estates (CL budget holder), (budget holder)

People and innovation:

• Health and safety (budget holder)
• Premises (CL budget holder)
• Workstyles

Governance and law:

• Property
• Litigation
• Contracts

Stakeholders: 

• Brighton & Hove City Council services
• Finance
• Housing
• One Public Estate Partners
• Downland Advisory Panel
• Seafront Development Board

Operational 

Commercial

Agricultural

Seafront

The proposed principles that guide the strategic management of the portfolios are: 

1. Rationalisation of operational properties 

The council has undergone a rationalisation of its operational assets over many years and this process is ongoing. This supports many objectives including efficiency, carbon reduction, improved ways of working and best use of resources. Assets considered for disposal include those where: 

• occupational ratios are low or the property is underused
• occupational costs are high
• the asset has a high level of functional or physical obsolescence and is in need of significant investment to improve functionality, condition and/or energy efficiency
• they are outlying assets accommodating teams who can be relocated elsewhere
• they are surplus assets which no longer have a service requirement
• the assets would provide a greater opportunity for refurbishment or redevelopment and regeneration

This strategy links to the Workspace Innovation programme for determining the most effective use of operational administrative properties. 

2. Regeneration priority for urban fringe and development sites 

The council owns a number of the urban fringe sites identified in the City Plan Part 2 (CPP2) within its Commercial and Agricultural Portfolios. There are also other sites, not urban fringe, with residential development potential, some of which are for low unit numbers and therefore below the threshold for an allocation in the CPP2. 

These sites will be considered by the Estates Regeneration Team for the delivery of affordable housing and regeneration. Where the cost v benefit ratio is low they will be considered for disposal. 

3. Performance of commercial properties 

Within the commercial property portfolio there are a number of secondary and tertiary properties where income is low, income growth is not maintaining pace with inflation, management costs are proportionately higher and the risk of tenant default higher. Where tenants’ businesses fail, the council is often left with repair liabilities and properties may prove difficult to relet. Disposal therefore reduces the inherent risk in the commercial property portfolio. Ongoing review of the portfolio will be undertaken to identify properties for disposal. 

Similarly, within the commercial property portfolio tenancy changes, such as lease expiries, terminations, and landlord break clauses provide an opportunity to obtain vacant possession of properties and sites for disposal where properties are high risk and/or poor performing or where sites can be redeveloped. 

4. Unsolicited offers and special interest purchasers 

Within the commercial property portfolio the council receives offers from commercial tenants and long lessees to acquire the freehold or re-gear their lease. Such offers, being from parties with a special interest, can represent favourable terms for the council and are therefore considered on a case-by-case basis. Alternatively, the council may approach a tenant or special interest party rather than dispose of an asset on the open market to achieve best consideration. In all cases, such disposals are subject to an independent valuation to ensure best consideration is achieved. 

5. Heritage assets 

These assets are best maintained when occupied and in use. Vacant and listed buildings are a significant drain on the council’s resources requiring costly maintenance and repair and significant investment to provide any occupiable space and even then, providing limited ability to create revenue, therefore making investment in heritage assets unviable. 

Grant funding may be available in some cases but also requires resources to apply for and is competitive and therefore not guaranteed. Funding is also limited and will normally still require the council to carry significant cost risk. These assets require further, more detailed consideration to better understand the costs and benefits of retention but disposal should be a primary consideration. 

When considering disposal options for land and properties identified for disposal, properties or land that can be used for the provision of housing will first be offered for appropriation to the Housing Revenue Account at best consideration.