DORSET Council is only now getting to grips with what its assets are – inherited from the six previous authorities when it came into being.

Cllr Tony Ferrari, the portfolio holder for the authority’s assets, said this week that the new council did not have ‘a coherent statement of what our estate was’ back in May 2019… but now does.

Immediate actions now include 'rationalising' 24 office sites.

The list of assets includes 133 car parks, 118 industrial units, 62 hotels and 53 farms and associated land holdings.

In total the council has 1,409 assets, either land or buildings, spread across 22 locations in the county. Of these 322 are in Weymouth, 169 in Dorchester, 133 in Bridport and 118 in Wimborne.

On April 1 2020 the estate had an estimated capital value of £463million.

More than 600 of the council owned sites have buildings on them, although a backlog of maintenance for these could cost £37m to correct: 65per cent of this is school related.

The authority is now working out which of its properties and land it might sell or dispose of in other ways; which could be put to other uses - and, in rare cases - where it might want to invest.

The council is being asked to pay £250,000 to carry out feasibility studies into what it owns and how best to use, or dispose of it, recovering the cost from any sales.

Cllr Ferrari said that the aims of the council, as one of the largest land and property owners in the county, is to use its assets to create economic growth, including new homes and jobs.

Said a report to councillors this week: “The effective use of the asset base will help enable the council to meet its social and financial challenges through asset disposals, generation of capital receipts, savings in costs through the reduction, rationalisation and improved efficiency of the estate and more importantly the generation of value through income generation and the repurposing, redirecting and reuse of land and buildings for housing, schools and other essential service needs.”

The council currently owns 355 properties which between them produce a rental income of £4.25m a year.

Of the 64 offices and administrative buildings the council owns, seven to date, have been identified as being surplus to requirements, with 16 leased to third parties.

The council’s primary focus is said to be to rationalise the 24 offices which it currently occupies.

The figure includes County Hall in Dorchester which has been divided into three sites and the Dorset History Centre, also in Dorchester, although it only has limited office space; and the three harbour offices.

Leases for Allenview House in Furzehill and Princes House in Dorchester have already been terminated with talks being held with Dorset Police and other partners, about sharing office space at South Walks House in Dorchester.

Covid, and the effect of any immunisation programme, may well shape the council’s future need for buildings, having already proved that for many staff home working is not only feasible, but preferable.

The committee heard that a partial return to the traditional office for many staff was being anticipated in the coming year, although not necessarily, full time, which would mean the council needing less office space than previously.

Some staff have already moved back to offices after initially being asked to work from home, although all council office buildings remain closed to the public.

Said the report to councillors: “Whilst the concepts of ‘hot desking’ and agile working have been introduced in a number of organisations in recent years, changes to technology and access to information has allowed for work to be done differently and more flexibly.

"More recently the necessary response to the Covid 19 pandemic has accelerated and accentuated this and has presented the need to work remotely in different ways.

"This has brought about a change at a rate that previously could not have been imagined - both in working practices and to attitudes staff and managers had about working remotely. "This has been reflected in recent staff feedback from surveys and various forums and is reflected in recent discussions with senior managers when discussing future service requirements.”