Kent County Council could save £280m over the next five years if it adopted a Total Place approach to property, according to figures released yesterday.

The council has shown that up to £280m could be saved in capital receipts alone by taking a more joined-up approach to asset management across different services.

Rationalising its £5bn property assets would also result in yearly revenue savings of £40m, according to findings from the pilot scheme submitted to the government on 5 February.

The aim of Total Place is to save money by avoiding inefficient use of property and duplication of roles between services.

If Total Place measures are introduced, public bodies in one area would be told to share more back office roles, cutting the demand for office space, and allowing disposals of surplus property.

David Lewis, Kent County Council’s director of property, says the government is using the pilots’ findings to inform a set of recommendations that will be published in a separate paper alongside April’s budget.

It could result in all publicly owned property in an area being managed through a single property vehicle. Kent is taking preliminary steps to do this before April 2011.

Lewis says any government would be likely to adopt some of the Total Place recommendations following an election, but several hurdles exist.

“There are some significant cultural changes that would need to take place in the public sector,” he says. “Individuals need to embrace new working practices such as flexible working and hot desking.”

He also called on the government to modernise its  Green Book, which shows public bodies how they should make business cases to secure funding for services.

One suggested way of cutting property is the creation of a “Gateway” (pictured) that would provide a hub from which all public sector customer services are provided.

To see the full report submitted by Kent County Council in February, click here: Kent CC Total Place submission

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