Place Pilots evaluation: Interim findings – executive summary

The pilots aim to:

• bring together multiple public estate owners, under joint local and central government leadership, to pilot joint portfolio planning and collaborative service delivery models in the context of local needs and ambitions
• optimise investment by driving efficiency and value across the public estate and better public services by identifying opportunity for co-location, repurposing and retrofit, disposals, relocations, land assembly and other multi-portfolio collaboration leading a shift towards whole-life asset management
• embed a stronger focus on place into strategic asset management planning by mapping estates alongside key growth and opportunity areas
• test new approaches and develop recommendations that can be replicated and scaled up to drive future uptake of a place-based approach across departmental and public sector estate strategies and at different geographic scales.

Following a series of scoping activities, set up of the pilot and selection criteria design, the Office of Government Property (OGP) partnered with 5 places of different scales (Derby, Hull, London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Hackney and Newham, Sheffield, and West Midlands Combined Authority area) over an 18-month pilot phase to support a series of 5 Place Pilots. Each received £500k in revenue funding to support their activities, which are currently being delivered.

Themes

London

• Use of the education estate to support public service transformation
• Planning for social infrastructure
• Health and leisure provision

WMCA

• Town centres
• Depots, industrial and fleet
• Facilities management and retrofit
• Connection and network

Hull

• Sustainability
• Health
• Housing and regeneration

Sheffield

• Combined estates
• Charter and strategy
• Green estates strategy
• Neighbourhood hubs
• City centre offices

Derby

• Co-location, hubs and estate rationalisation
• City centre workspace hub
• Station Gateway regeneration
• Blue lights (later omitted)

Place Pilot activity can directly support the new government’s “Mission-led” approach, bringing together a range of partners to address local challenges and opportunities.

Kick-start economic growth

• Empower places to take a holistic view of their estates and mobilise them to maximise community and economic benefit.
• Embed a stronger focus on place into strategic asset management, by mapping estates alongside key growth opportunities and areas of need.
• Unlock land for housing, reducing one of the biggest barriers to increasing housing supply.
• Release assets for commercial use, to help attract, retain and grow local businesses.
• Generate receipts for local areas to reinvest in growth enabling initiatives.
• Create a critical mass of activity and footfall to help catalyse growth and regeneration in specific areas.

Make Britain a clean energy superpower

• Drive efficiency and value across the public estate and improve services by identifying opportunities for colocation, repurposing and retrofit.
• Create a more energy efficient public estate, including exploring opportunities for local energy generation.

Take back our streets

• Co-location and strategic links between police, local government, health, community leaders and other relevant organisations drives better information sharing and better crime/safety related outcomes.
• Existing pilots have increased engagement with blue light services, forging stronger relationships.

Break down barriers to opportunity

• Respond to changing needs for educational estate by securing sites for new schools, converting existing assets for educational use, education-led mixed-use schemes and delivering ‘meanwhile uses’ for vacant sites.
• Existing pilot projects include working with LocatED to meet educational needs across boundaries.

Build an NHS fit for the future

• Co-location of services to increase accessibility for users.
• Several Place Pilot areas have engaged with the Integrated Care Board to investigate increased efficiency and value across the public health estate.

Expanded and strengthened partnerships

The Place Pilots have broadened and deepened partnership networks across all areas, fostering collaboration between public sector bodies, relevant government departments and private sector entities. This collaboration has led to greater trust, more cohesive project delivery, and in some instances the mending of strained relationships. Initial workshops brought key stakeholders together, and the Place Pilot branding proved valuable for stakeholder engagement. One Public Estate (OPE) leads were key in mobilising the pilots and facilitating discussions with relevant government departments.

The Place Pilot has made us take one step back to look at things strategically and, in turn, has helped us to take three steps forward"

Place Pilot local delivery stakeholder
 

Targeted collaboration and flexible working

The funding and flexible approach of the Place Pilots have enabled stronger collaboration across local stakeholders, allowing for creative and locally tailored solutions. This flexibility has been a key advantage, enabling partners to move beyond existing project-orientated approaches, towards a more strategic and innovative programme of activities. At the same time, the funding has facilitated the progression of existing projects that would have otherwise stalled.

Encouragement of long-term strategic thinking

The pilot has encouraged long-term, sustainable strategic thinking by providing resources for activities like mapping, feasibility studies, and master planning. This has led to more strategic use of existing assets and the combination of separate projects to create more coordinated and efficient plans, as seen in Hull, London, and the West Midlands, which will deliver lasting benefit.

Asset management isn’t a new challenge but until these programmes [Place Pilots] came along there hasn’t been a framework for making this happen"

Place Pilot local delivery stakeholder
 

Realistic timelines, scaled funding and selection via expression of interest

Setting realistic expectations for timelines and outputs is crucial to avoid frustration and disengagement. Additionally, funding should be scaled according to the complexity of the areas and the selection process should be more consultative, ensuring all partners are committed from the outset. A simple EOI process would ensure that areas have the political will and resource to engage with a Place Pilot-type initiative and could reduce delivery delays.

Proportional reporting and resource allocation

There was a call for resources to be allocated for action planning, as the lack of funding for this step was a bottleneck in several areas. Whilst it is acknowledged that this type of activity does not typically attract grant funding, it is also unusual that areas are expected to take part in a pilot without having applied. As such some funding to help them mobilise from a standing start would be helpful though this may be mitigated if an Expression of Interest (EOI) process is applied in future. Some concerns were also raised about the reporting and management requirements relative to the funding provided, which detracted from project delivery.

Improved early communication and information sharing

Some areas experienced delays due to insufficient early communication from OPE, particularly regarding available funding and objectives. There was also a call for more structured and consistent opportunities for knowledge sharing among pilot areas.

Promotion and identification of champions across Whitehall departments

Enhance promotion of the programme to raise awareness across Whitehall departments and enhance area support to ensure the early identification of and introduction to relevant departmental champions at the pilot and project level.

Clearer governance and strategic direction

Respondents highlighted the need for more defined governance structures and strategic objectives to ensure alignment with broader goals. Whilst it is acknowledged that the pilot was designed with intentionally flexible governance, respondents felt that this led to some uncertainty in terms of strategic direction. However, respondents also noted the importance of flexible guidelines that can adapt to changes, preventing delays and uncertainty in project execution. The sharing of learning from this first phase of pilots will provide any future participants with more clarity around expectations.

Addressing legacy concerns and ensuring sustainability

Many participants expressed uncertainty about the long-term sustainability and legacy of the partnerships and progress made during the pilot. There is a need for clear post-programme plans to maintain momentum and ensure continued success.

More detailed recommendations will be developed as the pilot progresses, but below are some early insights on how the project could develop.

Geographic scale and selection

The pilots are showing early indications that Place Pilots can work at a range of geographical scale from City / Local Authority to City Region / Combined Authority. However, some key points must be noted:

• Funding should be scalable, dependent on the size/complexity of the area. With a minimum amount available for all participating areas, more funding could potentially be made available for more ambitious/innovative pilots with evidenced buy in and commitment to the programmes' objectives.
• Participation should be via an expression of interest or light touch application process. This does not have to be a competitive bidding process but would ensure that there was local political buy in and appetite for activity in the local area from the outset.

Given live discussions around expanding devolution in existing MCA areas, and a clear message from the new Government encouraging other areas to adopt the mayoral model to access devolved powers and funding, the opportunity to align place pilot objectives as part of any future devolution deal negotiations should be fully explored. This could include Place Pilot-related outcomes and activities (and associated funding) being embedded within devolution deals for areas that pursue a Mayoral devolution deal (Level 3 on the current devolution framework), and its inclusion in Single Settlement discussions for existing MCAs. It would be incumbent upon Combined Authorities to ensure that they established appropriate governance within their structures to oversee activity. This could be aligned with the devolution of powers for strategic planning as outlined in the King’s Speech.

Communication, engagement and branding

To support places to develop relationships with relevant government stakeholders, any rollout of Place Pilots will require clear messaging with relevant department and agencies across government, clearly articulating the programme’s objectives and emphasising that the programme and the place-based principles behind it are a priority. This communication must be sustained beyond the launch of the pilots and ideally supported by a senior ministerial champion, which will encourage engagement and participation.

The relationship between Place Pilots activity and wider OPE activity should be clarified, so that participants and wider stakeholders understand the objectives of the activity as a whole, and the complementarity between existing OPE activity (often project-specific and self-contained) and Place Pilot activity (more focused on the longer-term and strategic opportunities).

Resourcing

The resourcing of activity should grow to reflect the scale and ambition of the programme:

• For participating places, this means ensuring funding reflects the scale and complexity of the area as noted above, with potential additional funding for particularly ambitious, complex and innovative activities.
• It is also important to ensure sufficient resource is in place at the programme level to effectively support and manage local areas and provide essential coordinating activity
  with central government.

Participating areas should be able to access resources early in the programme to achieve successful mobilisation. This could include funding to support action planning, sharing guidance and example activity from other areas and support in unlocking conversations with central government.

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