REIMAGINING PUBLIC ESTATES Turning estates into engines of fiscal resilience and growth

Richard Gawthorpe

Richard is Group Business Development Director for the Norse Group, with over 30 years of experience in the built environment for the private and public sectors, and a key leader of the executive team charged with strategic client retention, new client acquisition, and revenue growth. Cultivating long-term relationships and joint venture partnerships, Richard builds successful pipeline opportunities for public sector clients, creating new revenue streams and growth. His 'raison d'être' is to support, help and assist public sector clients, their communities and residents to work and live well within the built environment. He is passionate about our planet!

Richard agreed to write this article to complement the discussion of the panel session at ACES National Conference held in Bath in September 2025. The panel was chaired by Paul Pawa, Business Development Director at the Norse Group. Richard’s article is followed by Laura’s, who also spoke on the same panel. “Councils that shift from a maintenance mindset to an entrepreneurial one begin to see new possibilities. Each example shows how an asset once seen as a burden can become a generator of income, employment, and social value.” 

The new reality 

Local government finance has entered a new reality. The age of dependable government grants has passed, leaving councils facing some of the toughest financial pressures in decades - and reorganisation. But within this challenge lies a major opportunity. The chance to reimagine public estates as engines of fiscal resilience, growth, and community value. 

Councils own and manage vast portfolios of land and assets. Many are underused or viewed purely as liabilities, draining resources rather than generating them. Yet these same estates hold the potential to create new revenue streams, strengthen local economies, and support communities in practical, lasting ways. The question is how to unlock this hidden value while balancing the daily demands of service delivery. 

Too often, public assets are treated as static rather than strategic. Car parks, depots, leisure centres, and even vacant land all carry the potential to be repurposed. Councils that shift from a maintenance mindset to an entrepreneurial one begin to see new possibilities: redundant office blocks reimagined as high-quality, mixed-tenure housing that eases the housing crisis and creates long-term rental streams; underutilised land redeveloped into last-mile logistics hubs or skills campuses that deliver jobs and training; leisure centres transformed into community anchors, combining co-working, health, culture, and wellbeing under one roof.

Each example shows how an asset once seen as a burden can become a generator of income, employment, and social value. This is not about selling off the family silver. It is about using estates differently, thinking beyond traditional models, and forging partnerships that bring expertise, capital, and innovation to the table. 

Funding streams 

Traditional funding streams have disappeared, and councils now need financial models built for long-term resilience, not short-term fixes. Local authority trading companies and joint ventures are not just commercial vehicles, they are governance tools that align with Local Government Reorganisation and the Procurement Act’s public interest test. They blend efficiency with accountability, while keeping strategic control and community value in local hands. Alongside this, flexible lease structures can do more than bring in investors. They can be tailored to generate recurring income, protect public ownership, and deliver wider benefits such as green infrastructure or skills training. Shorter, adaptive lease terms also allow assets to evolve with changing market needs, ensuring councils remain in control of both purpose and outcome. Innovation in finance matters as much as innovation in land use, and those willing to explore new frameworks can unlock growth while protecting local priorities. 

Reimagining, partnering and leadership 

Councils today are walking a tightrope. On one side sits the unrelenting pressure to deliver essential services within shrinking budgets. On the other lies the ambition to reimagine estates as engines of growth and resilience. Both matter, and both must be managed together. With devolution and Local Government Reorganisation reshaping the landscape, this is not a moment to hesitate. It is a chance to act boldly and redesign estates to serve long-term community and fiscal goals. The choices made now will define councils’ capacity to lead locally in the next decade. Leaders can strike the balance by prioritising quick wins such as retrofitting solar panels or repurposing vacant buildings, protecting core services by framing transformation as a safeguard for delivery, and phasing change so that ambition grows without destabilising continuity. Estate transformation must be positioned as a strategic tool for resilience, not as an optional extra. As redesign (or reorganisation) takes shape, those willing to lead with imagination and pragmatism will not only balance today’s demands but also secure tomorrow’s prosperity. 

The landscape of local government is shifting rapidly. Devolution and reorganisation are changing powers, responsibilities, and scale. For some, this creates uncertainty; for others, it provides the mandate and momentum for change. A devolved and reformed system demands self-sufficiency, and councils that generate sustainable revenue through their estates will be better placed to thrive. They will also be better equipped to lead locally, showing government and citizens alike that local authorities are not just service providers but stewards of growth, resilience, and place. 

So where should councils begin? They can start by auditing and assessing what land and assets they own, their condition, and their potential uses. They should set a vision for the role estates will play in future - whether that is fiscal resilience, housing delivery, green energy, or community wellbeing. They should engage partners across the private, public, and voluntary sectors for investment and innovation, test new approaches through pilot projects, and use revenue to reinvest in services and reduce reliance on central funding. These are not theoretical moves; they are steps already being taken by forward-looking councils across the country. 

At the heart of this agenda lies leadership. Councils are uniquely placed to act as place-shapers, bringing together land, people, and opportunity. But doing so requires courage, the courage to break with tradition, to embrace risk in a measured way, and to pursue innovation even when the path is uncertain. If councils can lead locally, turning estates into engines of fiscal resilience and growth, they will not only withstand the pressures of today. They will also create thriving, self-sufficient communities that endure long into the future.