North Yorkshire Council
Executive
21 October 2025
Corporate Property Strategy
Report of the Corporate Director Resources.
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To seek Executive approval for the North Yorkshire Council Corporate Property Strategy (CPS) 2025 to 2035.
2.0 SUMMARY
2.1 This Corporate Property Strategy (CPS) focuses upon all operational land and buildings,
commercial investment assets and land held for development; excluding the Council’s Housing Revenue Account and highway assets which are the responsibility of other service departments in the organisation. The Strategy has a ten-year vision taking it through to 2035, however it will be reviewed after the first twelve months to ensure corporate alignment as the new organisation evolves.
2.2 The purpose of our CPS is to guide the effective and efficient management of our portfolio of assets to achieve our key objectives. The strategy will provide the Council with a structured approach to respond to service needs and priorities and will also form the basis on which the Councils team of property professionals will manage and operate the portfolio with support from key services in legal, procurement and finance.
2.3 The Strategy is designed to take a corporate view of the property portfolio so that we can
respond to the challenges of reduced central government funding, the rising costs of energy, the climate emergency, the changing trends of working and service delivery accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and through Local Government Reorganisation, the developments in prop-tech and more local needs tailored to our communities as identified in our Corporate Plan.
3.0 BACKGROUND
3.1 Since the formation of North Yorkshire Council in 2023, the estates of the former county and district councils have been merged, with the aim of converging all operational and strategic property management activity into a single harmonised modern and effective service: Property Services. This is the Council's first Property Strategy.
3.2 Since vesting day, the focus of property work has been to deliver financial savings from early asset rationalisation opportunities, restructure the property service, bring together service convergence work on portfolio data and intelligence and implement a single Corporate Asset Management System, alongside managing the extensive day to day, business as usual property related activity.
3.3 This Strategy will now provide a framework to support Property Services in delivering the efficient and effective management of the Council’s property portfolio and related activities. It will guide short to medium-term planning through to 2030 and set the foundation for longer-term objectives through to 2035, aligning asset management with the Council’s priorities and outcomes.
4.0 The Corporate Property Strategy 2025 - 2035
4.1 North Yorkshire Council’s Corporate Property Strategy aspires to create a modern, efficient,
and sustainable property portfolio that enables excellent service delivery, supports thriving
communities, and drives economic growth. By unifying and optimising our estate, we will deliver best value for residents, empower local decision-making, and support agile, digitally enabled ways of working. Our ambition is to lead with innovation, reduce our environmental impact, and ensure that every asset contributes to the council’s corporate plan key themes.
4.2 Property Services within the Resources Directorate will lead the implementation of the Strategy. A newly formed Corporate Property Board will oversee the delivery of the CPS, and we will continue to work in partnership internally and with external bodies. This CPS will be underpinned by the following four principles in alignment with the Council’s vision and ambitions.
· Corporate Landlord (CL)
Delivering asset management in partnership with strong governance and professional excellence, through the centralisation of property activity into a single CL model, positioning Property Services as a key enabler to forward business change.
· Estate Optimisation
Ensuring assets are fit for purpose, right sized and efficiently used.
· Sustainability and Carbon Reduction
Ensuring NYC's property supports carbon reduction, sustainability and climate change objectives.
· Supporting Communities
Using our property to work with Communities to promote development and regeneration benefits.
4.3 The CPS has presented to and approved by the Corporate and Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 29 September, and future progress updates will be reported through to that Committee.
5.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
5.1 The CPS supports the Council Plan’s vision of delivering efficient, accessible, and sustainable services.
5.2 It enables the “most local large council” model by ensuring assets are used to support local service delivery and community engagement including Double Devolution.
5.3 The CPS is a key enabler of the Target Operating Model (TOM), which outlines how the council operates. It helps eliminate duplication, supports agile working, and ensures that property assets are aligned with new service delivery models.
5.4 The CPS supports the Transformation Strategy, which includes digital transformation, system redesign, and customer experience improvements. It contributes to the “Way We Work” and “Customer Experience” themes by creating modern, flexible, and customer friendly environments. By reducing reliance on physical offices and enabling hybrid working, the CPS complements the Digital Strategy, which aims to make North Yorkshire a “smart county.”
5.5 The CPS supports the People Strategy by providing safe, inclusive, and flexible workspaces that enhance staff wellbeing and productivity.
5.6 The CPS is aligned with the council’s Net Zero ambitions, focusing on energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and sustainable asset use.
5.7 It enables the delivery of local regeneration and investment priorities by identifying and repurposing assets that can support economic growth and community development, through the Locality and Town Investment Plans.
6.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
6.1 The option of not publishing a CPS was considered and rejected because;
6.2 Transparency and Accountability: NYC is expected to demonstrate how public assets are managed. Not publishing a strategy may raise concerns about governance and openness.
6.3 Risk of Fragmented Decision-Making: Without a published strategy, decisions may lack cohesion, leading to inefficiencies or reputational risks.
6.4 Community and stakeholder engagement: Without a published CPS, clear and consistent engagement with external Community Groups and Stakeholders is more difficult leading to miscommunication.
7.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 Through the implementation of a Corporate Landlord model centralising property management enables economies of scale in procurement, maintenance, and service contracts.
7.2 Property budgets are transferred from service departments to a centralised team, allowing for better financial oversight and prioritisation of investment.
7.3 Strategic Investment Planning, property investment decisions align with corporate objectives, enabling targeted capital investment. The CPS will help us act corporately and justify decisions with robust business cases. It will allow savings to be delivered through property rationalisation (maximising utilisation) and maximisation of commercial return (rental yield) through reducing commercial voids. Upfront investment may be required in prop-tech (systems integration, AI and automation).
10.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
10.1 Risk Reduction and Compliance, Centralised control ensures consistent compliance with statutory obligations (e.g. fire safety, legionella, accessibility).
10.2 Clearer Legal Accountability,Property decisions are made by trained professionals within a centralised team.
10.3 Robust Governance and Decision-Making, clear lines of responsibility and accountability for property-related decisions will support corporate governance by aligning property decisions with council-wide priorities.
11.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
11.1 Harmonising our approach through a single Corporate Property team will ensure a consistent approach in service delivery and ensure equitable treatment of our asset users.
12.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
12.1 One of the four key Principles of the CPS is Sustainability and Carbon Reduction, ensuring that NYC property supports carbon reduction, sustainability and climate change objectives.
12.2 The corporate landlord model centralises property ownership and management, enabling strategic oversight of the entire estate. This allows for climate risk mapping across all assets—identifying assets with high carbon emissions, vulnerabilities to flooding and poor energy performance.
12.3 Our CPS supports refurbishment programmes to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions.
12.4 The strategy promotes nature recovery and sustainable land use, including Biodiversity Net Gain.
12.5 We will use the corporate landlord model to drive asset co-location and reduce underutilised assets, ensuring that our asset base optimises its energy use and carbon emissions.
13.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
13.1 By establishing the CPS, unifying and optimising our estate, we will deliver best value for residents, empower local decision-making, and support agile, digitally enabled ways of working. Through this approach we will ensure that every NYC asset contributes to the council’s corporate plan key themes.
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RECOMMENDATION(S)
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i) That Executive approves the North Yorkshire Council Corporate Property Strategy (CPS) 2025 to 2035.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Corporate Property Strategy 2025 – 2035
Appendix B – Equality Impact Screening Assessment
Appendix C – Climate Change Impact Assessment
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
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Gary Fielding
Corporate Director – Resources
County Hall
Northallerton
21 October 2025
Report Author – Jonathan Dunk, Asset Strategy Manager
Presenter of Report – Kerry Metcalfe, Assistant Director, Commercial, Property and Procurement
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.