The public sector content at UKREiiF has evolved considerably over the years. It used to be largely about disposal, covering how authorities could realise value from assets they no longer needed and reduce the cost of an estate that had grown too large for the organisation it served. The programme this year reflects something more complex and, in many respects, more demanding than that.
The expectation placed on public sector property has changed fundamentally. It is now expected to be a tool for economic growth, a driver of placemaking, and an active component of investment attraction strategies. Whether the capacity and governance to deliver on that expectation are keeping pace is the question I will be carrying into the sessions in Leeds.
From liability to lever
The shift in how public sector property is framed, from liability to be managed down to a lever for growth, reflects a genuine change in the policy environment. Devolution, the expansion of mayoral combined authorities, and the government's expectation that local and regional leadership will actively drive economic growth have all contributed to a context in which councils and public bodies are being asked to do more with their estates, not less.
That is not an unreasonable expectation. Public sector land and property holdings are significant. In many town and city centres, the public sector is among the largest landowners. The strategic deployment of those assets, as sites for housing, as anchors for regeneration, as tools for attracting private investment, can make a material difference to local economic outcomes.
The question is whether the strategic intent is matched by the operational capacity to act on it.
The capacity question
What I observe working with councils and public bodies across the country is that the resource environment within which they are making property decisions has become increasingly constrained. The combination of financial pressure, reduced in-house property expertise, and the complexity of the decisions being asked of them creates a genuine risk that ambition outpaces delivery.
The public sector property sessions at UKREiiF tend to surface this honestly in a way that is genuinely useful. The most valuable conversations are those where officers, elected members, and their advisers are direct about what is actually getting in the way, whether that is procurement timescales, governance requirements, the difficulty of assembling sites across multiple ownerships, or the challenge of making development appraisals stack up on public sector land values.
Devolution and the changing geography of decision-making
The devolution agenda running through UKREiiF this year is one of the more substantive parts of the programme. The transfer of powers and resources to mayoral combined authorities and the expectation that they will develop and implement coherent growth strategies changes the geography of property decision-making in ways that are still working through the system.
For authorities within combined authority areas, the relationship between local and mayoral decision-making on strategic property and development matters is still being defined in many places. For investors and developers trying to understand where decisions are made and who the right people to engage with are, that complexity adds friction to processes that are already demanding.
The sessions at UKREiiF that address the practical governance of devolved property and investment decisions are the ones I expect to be most directly relevant to the clients and authorities I work with.
What does a good public sector property strategy look like?
The authorities that are using their estates most effectively tend to share certain characteristics. They have a clear and current understanding of what they own, what condition it is in, and what it costs to hold. They have made deliberate decisions about which assets serve a strategic purpose and which do not. And they have the professional support in place to implement those decisions at pace, with the governance rigour that public sector decision-making requires.
That combination is achievable. It requires investment in the right expertise and a willingness to take a long-term view of asset value rather than defaulting to short-term disposal decisions driven by financial pressure. UKREiiF is a good place to test whether the industry and the public sector are finding better ways to build that combination.
Want to meet up at UKREiiF?
If you are attending UKREiiF and want to discuss public sector property strategy, estate management, or how devolution is affecting property decision-making in your area, let’s arrange a meeting.
Do not hesitate to contact [email protected] to arrange an appointment, or come along to our fringe event at Black Cat Club to discuss your public sector property issues over free food and drinks. Just email [email protected] to register your interest.
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