Local Authority in the United Kingdom
Project Information
Client: Local Authority in the United Kingdom
Project completion: 3 year framework
Value: undisclosed
Role: Contracts Management, Project management, Construction Delivery, Cost Consultancy, Construction design management
Projects completed under the framework
- New School [£5.4m]
- 8 hour fire proof archive [£1.9m]
- Sports centres [£3.5m x2]
- New schools extensions [£1.8m]
- Office Relocation phase 1 [£12m]
- Learning resource centre [£4.5m]
- New astro turf football pitch [£2.7m]
Seeking efficiencies at local government level has been high on the agenda since the Gershon and Lyons reports were published in 2004. Hertfordshire County Council’s (HCC) estate was considered disparate, underutilised, inflexible and unsustainable for the delivery of core services. The council undertook a significant transformation programme entitled “The Way We Work”, and commissioned a delivery partner to measure benefits and improved productivity, reflecting an understanding that transformation is not just a property solution.
An extensive, three-year property rationalisation programme followed that saw 66 disparate, county-wide properties consolidated into three strategically located campuses.
The commission was of a multi-disciplinary role to develop the outline business case, define the design and procurement strategies, and deliver the full programme of works. The transformation included a comprehensive change management and relocation programme for 4,500 staff, the acquisition and major refurbishment of two-office campuses and the part refurbishment of County Hall. Benefits included a 30 percent reduction in the office footprint, a 65 percent reduction in document storage, and an increase in the staff to workstation ratio from 1:1 to an average of 3:2.
Other local authorities now look to HCC as an example of best practice and for evidence that estate strategy reviews should consider the way people work, not just the buildings they work in.
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