Cherwell District Council

Overview

Laura was retained to support the development of a new structure for the Council’s property service in response to her Asset Review & Strategy report which highlighted operational and resourcing challenges preventing the optimisation of the Council’s portfolio.

The review of the Council’s c.120-asset property portfolio, and how it was being leveraged to meet strategic objectives, led Laura to conclude that a new approach to delivering project-specific or day-to-day property management was required, potentially combining internal and external expertise.

Working with the Chief Executive, the Head of Regeneration and Housing, and the Business Transformation Project Manager, Laura developed a business case for a Joint Property and Investment Service.

A key aspect of the case was the proposal for a Corporate Landlord approach to asset management to enable the prioritisation of property investment to create new sustainable income streams. This would require new, appropriately skilled and experienced resource.

The business case for a new approach to the Property and Investment Service was approved.  Laura was subsequently retained to support the Council to scope a new service structure and preparing job descriptions for each new role. She was also invited to attend the interview panel leading to the recruitment of a new Head of Service.