LGR Will Fail Without Estate Strategy

By Kane Lennon, Senior Consultant, Local Government Property Consultants (LGPC)

Local government is entering one of the most significant periods of structural reform in a generation. In Surrey, the direction is already set: two new unitaries, the abolition of all existing councils and shadow authorities expected to take shape after the May 2026 elections. Lancashire, Hertfordshire and several other areas are at different stages of similar conversations, each facing the same pressure to design entirely new arrangements for how local services will be delivered.

What is striking, reading the Surrey correspondence and the draft structural arrangements, is the emphasis on governance, finance and transitional leadership. All of this matters, of course, but it only describes part of the task in front of councils. Beneath every discussion about powers, budgets or decision-making sits a practical question that will determine whether reorganisation succeeds or becomes a new burden: what happens to the land and buildings that support these services?

The public estate in any county is large, inherited and often ill-suited to modern demands. Buildings vary in condition and efficiency. Most pre-date current service models. Others carry high running costs. Some are fundamentally constrained by their location. Every council holds a mixture of assets that have grown piecemeal over decades rather than through design. Reorganisation will force authorities to unpick this, sometimes very quickly, and to understand which assets genuinely serve future needs and which hold councils back.

Financial pressure brings this into sharper focus. As more authorities face acute budget challenges, the estate becomes one of the few areas where meaningful value can be released. Surplus sites, especially those suitable for housing, represent opportunities to support stability at a moment when stability is difficult to find. At the same time, services are changing. Social care, education and community provision increasingly rely on different spaces than those they inherited. Layer onto this the rising cost of meeting net-zero requirements within ageing buildings, and the scale of the estate challenge becomes unavoidable.

As reorganisation unfolds, the reality of the estate becomes clearer. Shadow authorities risk inheriting a collection of buildings and land that reflects the old system rather than the one they are expected to lead. Where estate planning starts late, the consequences are predictable: missed opportunities to rationalise; delayed capital receipts; new service models compromised by old buildings; continued duplication that undermines the case for reorganisation; and, perhaps most damaging, uncertainty that lasts for years rather than months.

There is another path. Reorganisation can be used to reshape the public estate in a way that supports the next decade of local government rather than repeating the last. Councils that begin early will look carefully at what they own, why they own it, how it performs and what it could become. They will consider how to bring services together more efficiently. Others will look at where land could be repurposed for affordable housing or community facilities. In many areas, there is serious discussion about which buildings drain resources and which are genuinely needed. This work is not tidy, and it cannot be rushed, but it is essential if new authorities are to begin on a firm footing.

What is clear, reading ministerial letters and studying past reorganisations, is that councils benefit from independent support during this phase. Estate work at this scale crosses boundaries - legal, financial, operational and political. It often involves sensitive judgments, the balancing of local priorities and the need to take decisions that will rarely please everyone. Objective professional advice can help authorities approach these issues with greater confidence and avoid decisions that feel expedient in the short term but problematic later.

The councils that succeed will be those that recognise that reorganisation is not only a question of structures and governance. It is also a physical project. It requires leaders to redraw the shape of their estate, to make choices about where services sit, to identify land that could do more than it does today, and to confront the reality that some buildings belong in the past, not the future. Those that start early, work collaboratively and ground their decisions in evidence will enter the new system with fewer liabilities, clearer priorities and a strong platform for long-term improvement.

LGR offers a genuine opportunity to rethink the public estate. If councils take it seriously, they will not only manage the transition - they will emerge more resilient and better equipped for the demands that lie ahead.

About the Author

Kane Lennon is the founder and senior consultant of LGPC (Local Government Property Consultants), established in September 2024. LGPC forms part of the award-winning consultancy team recognised as Consultancy of the Year 2025, specialising in innovative estate strategy, asset rationalisation, surplus land release, and housing-focused advisory for councils and education providers across England.