Concerns have been raised over budgets and capacity in maintaining council properties in Merthyr Tydfil. A report for the council’s corporate support and resources scrutiny committee on Tuesday, October 15 said the key main issues include insufficient capacity to manage property maintenance effectively, together with the allocation of insufficient maintenance budgets to deal with backlog maintenance. It stressed the lack of maintenance budgets which have not increased with inflation experienced since Covid and Brexit and a lack of capacity within the property services team.
This has resulted in the inability to consider centralizing maintenance budgets and a significant increase in the floor area of property within condition rating C and D. The report highlighted that progress is being made in addressing full statutory compliance overall, but investment is required on an asbestos management software system. An upgraded asset management software system has been recently introduced, including an asbestos management module.
The report emphasised the need for investment to address the backlog maintenance, requiring prioritisation to reverse the decline in building condition. The maintenance/compliance team needs to be adequately resourced to support building managers with planned maintenance programmes and completion of maintenance work highlighted in condition surveys.
Some of the activity around council assets in the last financial year (2023/2024) included completed Capital Receipts worth £869,000, rental income of approximately £1.6m, management of 38 community asset transfer leases, successful rating appeals worth £835,000, acquisitions completed worth £278,500, backlog maintenance of £42.77m, capital projects spend of £138.29m, which included various refurbishments and new construction projects in different locations.
The council report emphasized the importance of investing in maintaining council properties to uphold statutory compliance and reverse the decline in building condition. The need for adequate resourcing for the maintenance/compliance team to manage planned maintenance programmes efficiently was highlighted. It also detailed the various activities undertaken around council assets in the past financial year, showcasing the level of investment and work carried out to ensure the upkeep of properties in Merthyr Tydfil.