This 10-year Property & Estate Assets Management Strategy sets out our approach for the management of our property and estate assets over the medium to long-term.  It is part of a suite of documents which supports the delivery of the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP). This strategy details what we aim to achieve from our property and estate assets, the strategic objectives that will inform the decisions we make and the priorities we determine over the lifetime of this strategy.

Countywide the property and estate assets are generally to a good standard, however, they require ongoing review and investment to ensure that the facilities remain Fit for Purpose and reflective of the Service’s aspirations.

Core Priorities

The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) is a 5-year plan which sets out the direction of the Service and how it will continue to make Lancashire safer through the core strategies.

Our core priorities, throughout the service, are the areas we focus our activities and resources on, these are identified within the Annual Service Plan (ASP) under the following categories:

• Preventing fire and other emergencies from happening.

• Protecting people and property when they happen.

• Responding to fire and other emergencies quickly and competently.

• Valuing our people.

• Delivering value for money.

Core Values

Our STRIVE values and the national Core Code of Ethics guide the professional behaviours expected of all our staff to ensure our workplace is one where everyone feels valued, included, and able to reach their full potential. Our service “STRIVE” values underpin everything we seek to achieve:

• Service

• Trust

• Respect

• Integrity

• Value

• Empowerment

The aim of the Estate Property and Estate Assets Management Strategy is to deliver property and an estate that supports the creation of positive, inclusive environments that are fit for purpose, encourage best practice, innovation and continuous improvement and promotes the right culture.

This Strategy sets out the strategic objectives, priorities and actions required that will achieve this. Achieving these will enable us to deliver the best services and be an outstanding fire and rescue service for our communities, workforce and visitors. Due to the complexities of property and estate assets, a long-term strategy is required to ensure the following is achieved:

• A clear understanding of the estate assets required to deliver CRMP priorities.

• Identifying the most effective and efficient locations for our estate assets.

• Prioritising works required to deliver CRMP priorities.

• Ensuring sufficient resources to achieve our objectives.

• Obtaining value for money.

This document is set over four parts:

Part 1 – Overview of the existing Property and Estate Assets

Part 2 – Property and Estates Strategic Aim and Objectives

Part 3 – Property and Estates Priorities

Part 4 – Delivering our Strategy

Our Property department are responsible for all aspects of property and estate asset management across the property portfolio. They provide professional advice to internal and external customers on all aspects of the property and estate matters and are committed to ensuring that it delivers an effective and efficient service to meet customer’s needs alongside delivering the medium and longer term Property and Estate Assets Management Strategy.

Structures and Responsibilities

The Head of Property has responsibility for the department’s performance specific to financial and service delivery.  The key functions for the department include all aspects of Estate Maintenance, Estate Management, the majority of Facilities Management services and Capital Build projects relating to the Estate.

Estate Maintenance:

• Statutory compliance.

• Planned and Preventative Maintenance (PPM).

• Reactive Maintenance including Helpdesk.

• Building Management Systems (BMS).

• Building Services.

• Risk Management including Business continuity.

• Premises Management including Access control.

Estates Management:

• Property condition surveys.

• Asset Management and Strategic Planning.

• Estate development - Land acquisition and disposal.

• Space Management including Space Efficiency.

• Capital Projects - Minor and Major Works.

• Estate Management including Blue light Collaboration.

Facilities Management services:

• Cleaning – Building and Window.

• Hygiene services.

• Grounds Maintenance.

• Pest control.

• Building security.

• Utilities – Gas, Electricity and Water.

• Waste management (note that this is managed by SHE Dept).

We will

• Review the team structure to ensure the best service is provided.

• Procure, appoint and manage specialist consultants to support the services to be delivered.

• Invest in a new Computer-Aided Facility Management system (CAFM) to enable better information management, improved service delivery and longer-term management of our property and estate assets.

Property asset base

Our property assets are valued and held in the 2022/23 Statement of Accounts at over £118 million. This value is based on continued use by the service and does not represent the value that may be secured from disposal.

We operate from 41 sites across the county, split into six area hubs. The sites include 39 fire stations (wholetime and on call), Service Training Centre and Headquarters. Six of the fire stations are funded through Private Finance Initiative (PFI) with one fire station being specifically designed to share with a Blue light partner – Northwest Ambulance Service (NWAS).

To ensure collaboration and maximisation of the estate assets, site sharing arrangements are in place in numerous locations across Lancashire with Blue light partners, Prince’s Trust, Fire service support agency groups and local community charities.

Property condition

A fundamental aspect of property management is to assess the condition of the structure, fabric and mechanical and electrical installations. Stock condition surveys provide the evidence for the anticipated life-expectancy of building elements, running costs and energy performance, these enable informed decisions to be made in relation to the expenditure of revenue and capital funding on the estate.

Stock condition surveys, together with the knowledge and experience of the users, Property team and external specialist consultants, are utilised to enable informed decisions for both revenue and capital expenditure on the estate.

We will

• On a 5-year cyclical basis we will undertake Building Stock Condition Surveys across the estate.

• Consider our backlog maintenance and Property and Estate Assets objectives to develop our planned maintenance works schedules on an annual basis.

• Deliver the actions relating to property and estate assets in the Carbon Reduction Management Plan.

Property maintenance

The Property department are responsible for all aspects of the maintenance of the estate, the exception being the waste management contract. The structure of the department requires the support of external consultants and contractors to ensure that all aspects are delivered to satisfy legal requirements and service operational requirements.

The annual running cost of the estate is in the region of £3.7m, this is funded from the revenue budget.

Inflationary pressures have impacted significantly on these budgets and whilst we have increased budgets to keep in line with inflation we have seen inflationary increases over and above anticipated levels, particularly on energy and maintenance costs.

Property and Estate Assets Improvement

Improvement of our property and estate assets is funded from our capital budgets. Between 2013/14 to 2022/23 we spent over £13.5m.

Whilst £13.5m is a significant investment in our property and assets over the last 10 years, our capital programme for the next five years is almost four times this level. During this period, we plan to build a new Headquarters, build a new Preston fire station and invest in our training centre props.

We will

• Procure, appoint and manage consultants and contractors that meet our Property and Estate Asset objectives.

• Undertake effective and efficient contractor management to ensure quality, compliance and value for money.

• Ensure adequate resilience and Business Continuity Plans are in place with essential maintenance service contractors.

• Ensure maintenance and planned works are prioritised to meet our Property and Estate Assets objectives.

• Maintain a rolling 10-year property and estate assets capital programme to inform strategic decision making and financial planning.

Achievements

We have undertaken an incredible amount of work in recent years to improve aspects of our property and estate assets to meet the demands of a modern fire service and collaboration opportunities, such as:

• £4 million investment in a suite of mechanical cleaning equipment for purpose-built breathing apparatus training centre to deliver consistent levels of equipment disinfection and hygiene. It includes a network of classrooms and workshop areas where delegates will learn how to prepare, operate and service self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Facilities include a purpose-built dirty-to-clean layout designed to minimise the spread of, and exposure to, contaminants during the removal of equipment and changing out of personal protective equipment (PPE).

• Lancaster’s new Community Fire and Ambulance Station collaboration sees fire and ambulance staff jointly accommodated in state-of-the-art facilities on the same site. Working and training so closely together naturally improves everyone’s professional practice and leads to both performance improvement and financial efficiencies for the communities we serve, not just when we respond to emergencies but also in our continuing efforts to make our district safer through the work of our community teams.

The future of our property and estate will be determined by operational requirements, financial resources and service response to the risks in our communities.

The aim of the Estate Property and Estate Assets Management Strategy is to deliver property and an estate that supports the creation of positive, inclusive environments that are fit for purpose, encourage best practice, innovation and continuous improvement and promotes the right culture.

We need to provide a flexible and adaptable approach to the management of our property and estate assets that continues to deliver and improve operational effectiveness whilst responding to changing risks and resources.

Our property and estate assets will be measured against our four core objectives to inform the decisions made about our revenue and capital budgets and areas of focus.

We aim to have property and estate assets that are:

1. Fit for purpose
   
   To provide functional and fit for purpose facilities, constructed, refurbished and maintained to fulfil Service and legislative requirements and standards.

   To ensure that our property assets support skills and training for both our staff and community resilience, providing suitable training and educational facilities.

2. In optimal locations
   
   To provide assets that are in the optimal locations to achieve the Service Priorities outlined in the CRMP.

3. Provide a foundation for effective collaboration
   
   To provide assets that deliver better services and efficiencies through collaboration to deliver best value and engagement with Blue light partner agencies, Fire service support agency groups and local communities.

4. Are value for money and efficient
   
   To make the most efficient use of our property assets and manage our workspaces effectively, efficiently, reduce running costs and environmental impact and generate income including strategic rationalisation.

We will

• Establish and develop a Service Design Requirement document to ensure facilities are fit for purpose.

• Review the strategic location requirements for our estate assets to inform our capital investment programme.

• Engage and collaborate with Blue light partners, NFCC group leads and other agencies to maximise the estate assets.

We aim to have property and estate assets to meet all our four core objectives:

• Fit for purpose.

• In optimal locations.

• Provide a foundation for effective collaboration.

• Are value for money and efficient.

Whilst our primary focus is on ensuring our property and estate assets meet our four core objectives, we a constantly seeking to enhance and improve certain aspects of our property and estate assets for a modern fire service.

We have finite resources and therefore need to prioritise the enhancements and improvements we will make over the next 10 years. We have determined the priorities for enhancement and improvement of the property and estate assets over the next 10 years over and above our four core objectives are set out below:

High Quality Welfare and Dignity accommodation

Ensure that our Estate provides high quality welfare and dignity accommodation as standard. Upgrading facilities on stations where these are deemed to fall below acceptable standards.

We will

• Provide facilities that reflect a more diverse workforce.

• Deliver a programme of upgrades for Estates assets where standards are not acceptable.

Decontamination and Contamination reduction of our Estate

Understand the implications on our staff, and for our buildings, in relation to decontamination and contamination reduction.

We will

• Deliver a programme of upgrades to our facilities to meet National guidance, industry recommendations and standards in relation to the decontamination and contamination reduction on our Estate.

Safe and secure places of work

Ensure that our Estate provides safe and secure places of work for our staff, visitors and site sharing partners.

We will

• Deliver a programme of upgrades where the physical security arrangements on our Estate do not meet our aspirations.

Training facilities

Ensure that our Estate provides high quality training facilities which are aligned to the CRMP. Upgrading facilities on stations where these are deemed to fall below acceptable standards.

We will

• Review and improve the training props at our service training centre.

• Deliver a programme of upgrades where the training facilities available on station do not meet our minimum standards.

Office accommodation

Provide good quality office working environments that supports collaboration, provides modern accommodation and are fit for purpose.

We will

• Design, procure and construct a new Headquarters and Learning Development Centre.

Environment and sustainability

To understand our long-term requirements for the reduction of our Carbon Emissions in relation to our Estate.

We will

• Deliver the actions in our Carbon Reduction Management Plan to decarbonise the estate.

• New Capital Building projects to achieve BREEAM rating.

Space management

Ensure that our existing space is managed and utilised effectively and efficiently and meets the needs of the Service to deliver against Core Priorities and Core values.

We will

• Introduce a new function within the Property team to manage existing space.

• Develop and introduce a Space Management policy and standards in relation to Space Management

• Review space allocation on stations and identify any inefficiencies and opportunities.

Property and Estate Management Standards and Implementation

Ensure that our staff understand the function of the department and Estate Assets through a set of Property Standards.

We will

• Develop and implement at set of Property Standards to define the function of the department, Estate Assets and Contractors employed to undertake a range of services and minimum standards expected from our Property and Estate Assets

• Ensure that staff understand the Business Continuity arrangements in relation to the Estate.

  • Develop a Property Asset Management Plan (PAMP) to deliver this strategy.

There are a number of phases to our long-term Estates Asset Management Plan. Whilst we will continue to address the Property and Estates priorities outlined in Part 3 throughout the life of this strategy, particular focus will be given to projects funded in the Capital programme. These projects are outlined below:

Capital programme

The projects identified in 10 year capital programme in Appendix A will be reviewed annually and are subject to CFA approval. They require significant investment by the Service to be successfully delivered to achieve long term aspirations. The completion of these projects will reduce future revenue funding requirements by reducing existing maintenance backlog, predicted future maintenance and running costs. They will ensure that Service has Estate assets that are Fit for Purpose and enable the Core Priorities and Core Values to be achieved, they include:

• Programme of works for Drill Tower Replacements at several fire stations.

• Blackpool Fire station accommodation upgrades.

• Redevelopment of Service Training Centre – Training Props and Facilities.

• Design and Construction of new joint Headquarters and Learning and Development Centre building.

• Preston Station redevelopment.

• Fulwood Station redevelopment.

Future projects

A number of factors will influence future projects, including:

• Changes at Local and National Government level

• Changes to Service Governance

• Medium Term Financial settlement

• Ongoing review of CRMP / Service Plans

• Changes to risk profiles

• Outcome of Stock Condition Surveys

• Identification of requirements in connection with Aims and Objectives stated in Part 3

Governance and implementation

LFRS Property & Estate Assets Management Strategy sets out our commitment with our staff, stakeholders, community and site sharing partners for the Service. It is owned by Executive Board (EB) who set the strategic objectives and agree the priorities for the Service with the Combined Fire Authority (CFA).

The EB ensure that sufficient resources are available to deliver this strategy and will provide strategic direction to ensure holistic and service wide approaches are taken in relation to decisions relating to the Estates assets.

The implementation of this strategy, and delivery of the PAMP, is the responsibility of the Head of Property. Delivery and performance are monitored through Capital Projects Programme Board and Corporate Programme Board.

Property and Estates Capital Programme (based on 2023 – 2033 capital programme agreed by CFA February 2024)