Council Land and Property
Property Services
Background
As a unitary authority the Herefordshire Council has an interest in hundreds of properties and thousands of pieces of land.
The council owns or leases properties principally either to provide services or to obtain a financial return.
The Council’s Property Estate
The council has an extensive and diverse property estate; spread throughout the entire county of Herefordshire. A wide variety of service functions are supported including schools, libraries, homes for older people, car parks, public conveniences, household waste disposal, youth centres, tourist information centres, offices and highways depots.
The Council owns four industrial estates with units that are let to tenants, and has a significant farm estate with over seventy smallholdings tenants. It also manages, on behalf of Trustees, the Buchanan Trust Estate, just outside Bosbury.
A wide variety of different types of buildings are owned or leased by the council. These include sites and buildings of significant architectural or historic merit and several of the buildings used are listed.
The total insurance value of the entire estate is close to £500m at replacement value, and there are over two hundred and fifty principal operational properties.
Property Services
Property Services is a division within the Environment directorate. Property Services is responsible for all aspects of property management of the council’s property portfolio.
Herefordshire Council believes that the primary strategic roles of property assets held by the council are:
- To facilitate the provision and improvement of services provided by the council and other partner organisations as a contribution towards achieving the vision of the Herefordshire Plan and Corporate Plan.
- To generate an acceptable financial return for the authority, in terms of revenue income, cost reductions or improving efficiency.
- To assist community development and demonstrate good environmental management.
The Property Services division is structured into five distinct areas of activity.
These activities are carried out by fifty professional, technical and administrative staff. The principal location of Property Services is at Franklin House, Hereford, with the Facilities Management section being located at Blueschool House in Hereford.
Property Services are based at:
Franklin House
4 Commercial Road
Hereford
HR1 2BB
Maintenance Section
The Maintenance Section manages the maintenance of the council’s corporate property portfolio.
Capital Section
The Capital Section manages major building projects and deals with all forms of procurement.
Estates Section
The Estates Section manages valuations, acquisitions and disposals.
Facilities Management
Based at Blueschool House, Facilities Management are responsible for the building cleaning, grounds maintenance and catering contracts at 102 school throughout Herefordshire and the building cleaning at all County buildings including libraries, administration buildings, Info centres, etc. We are responsible for the window-cleaning contract.
Property Information Section
The Property Information Section manages corporate property information and is responsible for the Asset Management Plan.
The Property Information section:
- Commission and processes 5 yearly building / mechanical / electrical condition surveys
- Maintains the Register of Asbestos within council buildings
- Maintains record drawings of buildings
- Assists with the production of the annual Asset Management Plan for the DFES
- Assists with the production of the annual Asset Management Plan for the ODPM
- Co-ordinates I.T. provision for Property Services
- Provides management information on the council's property estate
Contact: Russell Cheasley
Land and Property Information Officer
Tel:01432 261534
Fax: 01432 261892
Strategic use of the Council’s assets, excluding schools and housing are summarised in the Herefordshire Council’s Asset Management Plan, produced for the ODPM.
