South Yorkshire Police faces £5.7m backlog in condition works to its estates

South Yorkshire Police faces a £5.7m backlog of condition works to its estates.
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The backlog of works across the force’s estate comes to £5.76m, with a total requirement of £42.3m over the next ten years.

A five-year estates strategy by South Yorkshire’s Police and crime commissioner Dr Alan Billings states the the force has around 105 assets in its estate, with a value of around £82m.

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"Some parts of the estate seem old and tired. They need to be refurbished or replaced."Some parts of the estate seem old and tired. They need to be refurbished or replaced.
"Some parts of the estate seem old and tired. They need to be refurbished or replaced.
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This includes police stations, headquarters, police dog kennels, and stables for the mounted section – some of which may be sold off.

The strategy states that a number of assets have been “identified for disposal”.

Dr Billings states in the strategy: “We have had some ten years of austerity when finances were very tight and many parts of the public sector found it hard to commit funds beyond the most basic needs for repair and maintenance, and not always for that.

“Some parts of the estate seem old and tired. They need to be refurbished or replaced.

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“We are part way through a recruitment process to increase our police officer numbers that also have implications for the estate.

“Those who will be strengthening the re-established neighbourhood teams, for example, will need a base in an appropriate place.

"We recognise that the pandemic has accelerated the progression already taking place to more home working.

"One way in which we show the police workforce that there is a genuine concern for their general welfare and well-being is that where we need buildings those buildings need to be pleasant to work in and appropriate for the requirements of modern policing.”

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As part of the strategy, surveys of the force’s estates have been undertaken and the results analysed, ” to inform decisions around the retention/disposal of assets and the planned maintenance programme.”

Some of the assets are “no longer suitable or nearing the end oftheir economic life,” and investment is needed to address the backlog of works and to ensure buildings remain functional.

“Based on the data received the backlog of condition works to the current estate amounts to £5.76m with a total requirement of both capital and revenue of £42.3m over the next ten years.

“This work is necessary in order to provide fit for purpose buildings that support SYP in delivering efficient and effective policing services.”