Defence Estates, the Ministry of Defence’s property arm, will take a more centralised and strategic approach to its property following a government review being conducted by Lord Levene.
Levene was commissioned by the government to carry out a defence reform review, looking at how to make the MoD more efficient.
Speaking at …

England’s regional development agencies have lost 424  staff in total since the general election in May, Public Property UK can reveal.
The bodies, which are due to be abolished by April 2012 and employ around 2,500 staff, have recently finished a first wave of voluntary redundancies and are set to cut …

The government has today confirmed plans to introduce two property vehicles to own and manage its office estate, one in central London and one in Bristol.
As revealed by Public Property UK last week, the government wants to explore ways of better asset managing its offices in order to find savings.
It …

As property braces itself for the Comprehensive Spending Review, Nick Johnstone considers the repercussions of a “once-in-a-century” moment in government property policy.
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A scruffy 200,000 sq ft office block is about to come on to the market in Edinburgh. Its occupier, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is cutting costs …

New property vehicles to own and manage the government office estate should charge departments “market rent”, prime minister David Cameron has said.
In a letter to Treasury chief secretary Danny Alexander and Cabinet secretary Francis Maude, seen by PublicPropertyUK.com, Cameron calls for departments to be “incentivised” to use their estates efficiently. …

John Richards has been appointed as the non-executive chairman of the Torbay Development Agency.
Richards is the former chief executive of Hammerson and is currently president of the British Property Federation.
Richards said: “My roots are here in the West Country, and this is the perfect chance for me to ‘put something …

The government plans to create a centrally run property vehicle to own and manage its office estate in Bristol and London, with a view to seeking private partners and expanding its scope across the country.
PublicPropertyUK.com has learned that the project, due to be launched in April, transfers control of offices …

Francis Maude has announced that 192  government quangos are set to be axed, and a further 289 to be reformed.
This morning, Cabinet Office minister Maude published the definitive list of bodies to be scrapped including the Infrastructure Planning Commission and development corporations in the Thames Gateway.
The Homes and Communities Agency …

Stephen Hollowood, executive director and head of public sector at GVA Grimley, looks at which parts of the UK will be hit hardest by next Wednesday’s comprehensive spending review:
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The much-anticipated comprehensive spending review will announce funding cuts across all parts of the public sector, although more so for some …

The government is expected to give the go ahead to up to 26 of the 56 local partnerships that are due to replace regional development agencies.
Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Greater Birmingham are three of the local enterprise partnerships that the government is expected to approve.
These groups will be given powers …