Supplementary A - London Borough of Hillingdon

The key issues and proposals for the Council arising from the Plan are:
• A maintenance backlog for 2006/07 has been identified of approximately £23.5 million (of
which approximately £6.17 million relates to the Civic Centre). The issue of how this can be
and will be addressed is a major theme of the Property Asset Strategy. It is anticipated that
the overall maintenance backlog is initially likely to rise due to additional works becoming
necessary before falling in future years as the impact of measures being taken to reduce the
backlog take full effect. Whilst the General Fund maintenance backlog is steadily falling,
more information is now available (after detailed surveys) on the Civic Centre and town
centre car parks (Cedar & Grainges). This has now been factored into the overall
maintenance backlog projections which have increased as a result.
• Space utilisation in the Civic Centre is improving with the aim of increasing occupancy to
2027 by November 2007. Work is in progress for mobile workers spending the equivalent of
two days out of the office to share workstations with the objective to free approximately
100 workstations. Negotiations have commenced with Hillingdon Primary Care Trust
regarding the potential use of these premises during 2007/08.
• The review of Social Services assets is continuing to lead to a number of proposals for
change including possible closure of a number of outdated buildings and the modernisation
of residential care provision for people with learning disabilities through a significantly
increased community based range of accommodation services.
• Proposals are almost completed for a new leisure development at Hillingdon House Farm
including refurbishment of the listed open-air pool with an initial estimated cost of between
£19-25 million dependent on size of pool. Cabinet will be informed in April 2007 of the final
cost.
• Proposals are also being developed for community leisure facilities in Hayes including a 25m
pool, Health and Fitness Centre and inclusion of a library, with a total estimated cost of £14
million.
• A programme of refurbishment of branch libraries is continuing in parallel with improvements
in accessibility in accordance with DDA requirements.
• An allotment strategy has been agreed with the Hillingdon Allotments and Horticultural
Federation, which has already led to the rationalisation of two under-utilised sites for
disposal linked to a programme of improvements for remaining sites.
• A car parks asset review has been undertaken by officers for the Property and
Accommodation Strategy Group (PASG) and the review is considering any potential for
development on or over parts of car parks to provide additional housing.
• The Housing Development Team is undertaking a review of the HRA portfolio of £688 million
to identify any opportunities for development in liaison with Corporate Property Services and
other services. This is expected to lead to recommendations as to better asset utilisation. A
number of small sites have been identified which may have some potential for development
or alternative use. These sites warrant further detailed investigation.
• The Council as a whole has recently had a CPA assessment for 2006 and shows that the
council has improved three quarters of its key performance indicators, which is above the
national average, additionally Housing services improved their rating to become a four star
service overall, having also maintained their four stars for the benefits service and in the
area of environment a rating of three stars has been achieved (previously two stars).
• Appendix C sets out the results of Hillingdon’s CPA (Use of Resources) assessment in 2006.
The Council maintained level 3 in 2005/06. This score of 3 was maintained when last
reviewed in November 2006 by the Audit Commission. The actions necessary to achieve
Level 4 (the highest level) have been identified in the Appendix. For asset management the
areas identified for improvement opportunities are :
a) A maintenance plan to address the significant maintenance backlog for the Council’s
assets.
b) Ensuring external benchmarking is conducted with meaningful results communicated
to stakeholders.
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