Agenda item

Agenda item

Ownership of Assets

Report of the Head of Estates and Facilities and the Head of Development.

 

This report provides an overview of CPAD, the Council’s property system, the training available for Councillors on the system, and the role of the Records team in supporting ownership queries. The report also references work to update records and develop a strategic asset management plan. 

 

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Estates and Facilities and the Head of Development which provided an overview of the Council’s Property Asset Database (CPAD), the training available for Councillors on the system, and the role of the Records team in supporting ownership queries.

 

Key themes and points of the report included:

 

·         CPAD helps Councillors to determine who owns what within their wards;

·         Members have been able to access CPAD since January 2017 and training and access has been offered to all new Members, with refresher training available as required. Any Member requiring new or refresher training should contact CPAD@manchester.gov.uk.

·         Members who have received training are provided with read-only access to operational, investment and school site records within their wards; and

·         Work was underway to update records and develop a strategic asset management plan.

 

A live demonstration of using CPAD was also provided at the meeting.

 

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions included:

 

·         If land is classified by department and if this information is available through CPAD;

·         How the Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) would improve the decision-making process around land, property, investment and development decision making;

·         Encouraging members to take up the offer of training on CPAD;

·         If land disposal is recorded on the system;

 

The Estates Information Manager (Systems) explained that work was underway as part of the 10-year anniversary of CPAD to update some historic records to ensure relevance. It was also confirmed that the CPAD system provides information as to which council department owns an asset.

 

It was also explained that enquiries as to ownership of land are primarily received through the Council’s CRM system which are then directed to Corporate Estates for triage.

 

The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer encouraged members and residents to continue to use the CRM system to report issues such as fly tipping and waste.

 

The Head of Estates and Facilities provided assurances that the SAMP, which was being developed, would provide a clear process for making decisions around ownership of land. 

 

The Director of Development reiterated these comments and explained that the SAMP would be an open and transparent evaluation tool which would bring together the Council’s strategic priorities, planning policy and consultation with partners to evaluate the potential of land to provide a supply of homes, work and skills opportunities and community uses. The SAMP would be a public document and engagement would be undertaken with ward members. 

 

The Committee was also advised that officers were working with Members Services to introduce training on CPAD as part of the wider induction programme.

 

Assurances were provided that records were not deleted from the system and that disposed land would be recorded as an archived site.

 

The Deputy Leader (Statutory) advised members that work remained underway on the SAMP to ensure robustness and that training could be arranged for after this work is completed.

 

Decision:

 

That

 

1.    the Committee notes the report;

 

2.    the Committee recommends increasing efforts to have members of the Council trained on the CPAD system; and

 

3.    the Committee recommends that training on the CPAD system be included as part of the wider induction programme for members.

Supporting documents: