As councils submit budgets for the next financial year, it is apparent that there will be a lot of bad news for public sector property. Nottinghamshire County Council will reduce its team by 20% — 60 posts — in the next three years. Hounslow Borough Council has cut its property management team by 40% in the past year, while Bristol City Council is thought to be filling only half the positions that fall vacant.

On 2 March, a survey of 49 local authorities found that 25,000 council jobs were predicted to go within five years. It followed Birmingham City Council’s announcement that it would cut 2,000 positions. Public sector bosses say having fewer staff will slow down their ability to process planning applications, make asset disposals and find the efficiency savings on property that the government is demanding.

More cuts will follow, as councils expect budgets to be slashed by 10%-20% in the next five years. Back-office teams, including property departments, will be worst affected.

The survey also revealed that 96% of councils are looking at how they can share back-office workers with other public sector bodies, following such a recommendation in a recent report from the Communities and Local Government department.

David Hackforth, president of the Planning Officers Society, says authorities such as Birmingham would retain social services and education workers over planning or property staff.

“I would be very surprised if planning departments weren’t affected by the cuts in Birmingham and elsewhere,” he says. This could affect delivery of large development plans such as the Big City Plan.

Planning departments have suffered a fall of up to 25% in income from planning fees because fewer developments are coming forward in the downturn.

“The drop in fees has badly affected planning departments,” says Hackforth. “Planning authorities may cope when application numbers are down but, when the recovery happens, there will be huge problems in dealing with the rise in applications.”

Property management teams will have fewer staff doing more work. As it slashes council budgets, the government wants property teams to raise £20m through disposals before 2020.

Lee Dawson, former president of the Association of Chief Estates Surveyors and Property Managers in the Public Sector, says his property management team at Hounslow council has shrunk by almost half, but has never been busier.

“Looking at the work coming in, there is suddenly a lot of emphasis on property. The problem is how to do this work with fewer people,” he says. It is a question all councils will now be asking.

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