UNLOCKING PROPERTY POTENTIAL Challenging the status quo - Giving purpose to the public estate: understanding need, harnessing data, unlocking potential

Laura Boutle

Laura is a qualified chartered surveyor who chose to specialise in the public sector from her first employment with Donaldsons, through various private sector consultancies and into her niche practice, Navigate Public Estate which she founded in February 2025 and is Managing Director.  With a distinguished 30-year advisory career, Laura has worked across all UK public sectors, supporting over 60 local authorities, central government departments, NHS organisations, police forces, and further education colleges. She has also guided public sector partnerships, helping them identify shared goals and foster collaboration through the One Public Estate Programme and other government initiatives. Her goal is to align public estate to the public sector’s strategic objectives, delivering value for money solutions based on ‘need’ not ‘want’.

Following on from Richard’s article, and to complement the discussion of the panel session at the recent ACES National Conference, Laura reinforces the power within the public estate to unlock strategic potential of its assets: the key is property and purpose; data and spreadsheets “are the engine room of effective estate strategy.” 

Introduction 

Local government is navigating one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Budgets are under strain, service demand is rising, and structural reorganisation continues to reshape the public sector landscape. In this context, the public estate - the land, buildings, and infrastructure owned across councils and their partners - is more than a collection of bricks and mortar. It is a powerful lever for resilience, growth, and community value. 

As Richard Gawthorpe of the Norse Group argues in his article “Turning Estates into Engines of Fiscal Resilience and Growth”, the strategic importance of property has never been clearer. I share that view. For years, I have argued that the public estate is not simply an administrative responsibility but a critical instrument for transformation. The question is no longer whether the estate matters, but whether we are equipped to unlock its true potential. 

The opportunity at the intersection of property and purpose 

Over the past 30 years, I have worked alongside dozens of councils, government departments, blue light services, NHS bodies, further education institutions, and local One Public Estate and Place Partnerships. Each organisation is unique, but they share a striking commonality: all own or occupy property, all pursue strategic objectives, and all shape the communities they serve. 

It is at the intersection of property and purpose where the greatest opportunities - and the most difficult challenges - arise. 

Council portfolios, in particular, are extraordinarily complex. They span statutory functions such as waste services, libraries, adult social care, and temporary accommodation, while also extending into discretionary services like car parks, community centres, leisure facilities, cultural venues, and commercial properties. Few other organisations manage such a diverse and geographically dispersed estate. This scale makes the portfolio both uniquely important and uniquely difficult to manage strategically. 

Barriers that hold back potential 

While the constraints of financial and people resources, siloed working across organisations, and the frequent absence of estates experts at the “top table” are well known, two deeper challenges consistently surface:

• A lack of clarity around need - Councils are not always equipped with a single, shared, future-focused account of what their communities, services, and partners require - and consequently, what role the estate should play 

• Weak information about the estate - Too often, property decisions are based on incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent data. This weakens the case for change or investment, and risks missed opportunities. 

The result? Assets are underutilised, resources are stretched, and opportunities to align estate with corporate and place-based objectives are lost. 

Two practical golden threads for unlocking potential 

My response is straightforward and rests on two golden threads that, taken together, can transform the way we manage and imagine the public estate: 

• Regular, structured stakeholder engagement - internally and externally, with public and third sector partners - to co-create a place-based public service plan 

• Investment in a comprehensive asset register - a rich, reliable source of information in a digestible format capturing not only what assets exist, but their function, social value, liabilities, and sphere of influence. 

Combined, these threads provide the foundation to reimagine the shape of council and public estate portfolios and to define a clear future purpose for every asset. 

Golden thread one: Stakeholder engagement 

When developing estate strategies, my starting point is not the buildings themselves, but the ambitions of the organisation. While strategic plans and corporate documents are useful, it is far more revealing to go directly to the people shaping delivery. 

That is why I prioritise structured engagement sessions with senior leaders, usually delivered virtually to maximise participation. These conversations are deliberately forward-looking and often begin with a simple but powerful question: 

“If you had a blank sheet of paper, would you start again with what you have?” 

This visioning exercise sparks honest and creative responses. Balanced against the financial realities of the sector, it consistently generates insights that help to reimagine the estate in purposeful ways. 

From there, the process of “joining the dots” begins - aligning ambitions across services internally, and with partners externally. Whether it means situating health and social care provision in areas of acute deprivation, or consolidating corporate office space near transport hubs, this engagement builds a comprehensive picture of where property can best serve people and place. 

Golden thread two: The comprehensive asset register 

If engagement defines what is needed, the asset register reveals what is possible. 

Anyone who has worked with me knows I have a passion for spreadsheets and data - not for their own sake, but because they are the engine room of effective estate strategy. 

Mapping tools can visualise assets, but dots on a map rarely tell the whole story. They don’t capture function, financial value, liabilities, or the broader influence of an asset on its community. A simple spreadsheet, however, can evolve into a full account of every property, creating a unified foundation for analysis and decision-making. 

For reorganised councils in particular, this has proved invaluable. New members often want to know not only the scale of the estate they now oversee, but how those assets are performing. A robust register brings clarity and builds confidence in making bold, evidence-based decisions. 

From Maintenance to Momentum 

In his article, Richard calls for a shift from a maintenance mindset to an entrepreneurial one. With sharper insight into local need and richer data on the estate, this shift becomes not only possible but essential. 

Redundant public office blocks can be reimagined as high-quality, mixed-tenure housing, easing the housing crisis while generating long-term rental income. Underused public land can be transformed into last-mile logistics hubs or skills campuses, creating jobs and training opportunities. Leisure centres can evolve into community anchors that combine co-working, health, culture, and wellbeing under one roof. 

These are not distant aspirations. They are opportunities waiting to be unlocked, provided we are equipped with the tools and confidence to act. 

A call to action 

The fiscal and organisational turbulence facing the public sector is undeniable. But in the public estate we hold a rare source of light: a tangible opportunity to reshape services, strengthen resilience, and deliver genuine community value. 

The estate is not a liability to be managed - it is an opportunity to be seized. Unlocking that opportunity requires clarity of need, robust data, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. 

The question is no longer whether we can afford to reimagine the public estate, but whether we can afford not to.