Home News Next phase of One Public Estate initiative launched

Next phase of One Public Estate initiative launched

0

Councils can now apply for up to £500,000 to support the delivery of ambitious property-based initiatives under the One Public Estate programme.

The opportunity comes after the Government announced an additional £31 million in last November’s Autumn Statement to further expand the programme to make public land and property work harder for local areas.

One Public Estate is a pioneering initiative jointly delivered by the Cabinet Office Government Property Unit and the Local Government Association (LGA).

It provides expert support and funding to councils to deliver ambitious cross-public sector property-based projects that boost local growth, deliver more customer integrated services, generate capital receipts and reduce running costs for the public sector.

Launched in 2013, the programme now successfully supports 112 councils across England. The latest cohort of 24 partnerships was announced in December 2015 and is expected to deliver £138 million in property sales; 36,000 new jobs; 16,500 new homes; and save £56 million in running costs over the next five years.

LGA Chairman, Lord Porter, said:

“Through One Public Estate, councils have shown that they are in the perfect position to act as leaders of place and deliver effective cross public sector asset management. Councils are already the most efficient part of the public sector, and they have reaped impressive rewards for their communities through their leadership on the programme, unlocking land to create vital homes and jobs, helping services to work better together, and bringing in money while generating savings for the future.

“With this latest phase of the programme, we’ll edge closer to achieving our ambition to have all councils signed up by 2018, driving growth in their areas through the strong local leadership that we’ve already seen in the early phases of the programme.”

Matt Hancock, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, said:

“The One Public Estate programme is going from strength to strength – making a big difference across our local communities by delivering more integrated services and at the same time saving taxpayers money. It shows the Government in action, working together to improve local communities.

“This fourth phase will go even further – delivering more growth, more transformation and better use of land. It will support a record number of local authorities to be more ambitious than ever before.”

The next phase of One Public Estate invites applications from partnerships with ambitious work programmes to be delivered in conjunction with other public sector partners. Individual councils with programmes that will bring about significant local transformation are also encouraged to apply. Councils already on the programme will be able to bid for extra funding for new projects that bring clear additionality to their OPE programmes.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here