Introduction - HRA Asset Management Plan
With increased regulatory requirements, operational delivery pressures, and financial constraints, the imperative for us to have a strong, forward-thinking approach to asset management has never been greater. To do this, we need to have in place a range of well-planned strategic and operational asset management practices. These need to be informed by the range of national drivers for asset management for social housing providers, as well as our local context.
To help us improve the way we plan and deliver our range of asset management activities, we have developed our HRA Asset Management Plan. It incorporates a set of priorities and actions for our repair, maintenance and investment work for delivery over 2025-27. Linking with other key strategic documents including the Council’s Corporate Plan and HRA Business Plan, the Asset Management Plan forms an important plank of the Council’s joined up approach to providing direction and clarity on looking after and investing in its HRA assets.
- Oxford Corporate Strategy 2024 - 2028
- Housing Strategy - 2023 - 2028
- 40 Year HRA Business Plan - 2025 onwards
- Asset Management Strategy - 2025 - 2028
- 5 Year Investment Programme Plan 2025-2030
What is Strategic Asset Management? Why do we need an Asset Management Strategy?
The term ‘Strategic Asset Management’ describes the range of activities we need in place to make best use of resources in maintaining and improving our homes. While asset management includes repairs and maintenance, it is about much more than this. It is about keeping homes safe, updating, improving, and investing in homes and estates so we provide good quality accommodation in places people want to live. It also includes future facing issues such as energy efficiency works, and modernising and regenerating our homes and estates, all with a focus on the evolving needs of residents.
Our Asset Management Strategy has been produced using a best practice approach to developing asset management strategies. It has been informed by a self-assessment of our current performance in delivering asset management, and an analysis of our current challenges. It sets out an analysis of where we need to improve our governance of asset management and our performance in delivering a set of key actions, with an assessment of the associated risks. It then sets out an agenda for change and a detailed Action Plan for bringing about the improvements needed in our asset management planning and delivery.
The purpose of our Asset Management Strategy is to drive forward the range of decisions and actions needed across all aspects of asset management over the period to 2027. To secure maximum success, the Plan incorporates – and needs to be supported by – appropriate governance arrangements. These will help ensure that we use the right information, data, and intelligence about the HRA assets to make the right decisions for their long-term future.
What will our Asset Management Plan deliver?
Our goal is for the strategy to secure the improvements needed in how we:
- Drive forward, lead, govern and account for all the Council’s HRA asset management activities.
- Maximise the use of quality data and our understanding of the performance and condition of the housing assets to make good, informed decisions for the HRA.
- Resource and organise the management of the HRA assets through a strong, strategic client function.
- Build our knowledge and levels of confidence in our future investment programmes, considering tenant involvement and feedback.
- Fulfills our landlord responsibilities and regulatory requirements effectively through a process of continuous improvement in our asset management planning and investment.
We have developed a suite of six priority actions that form the basis for the Asset Management Strategy. These focus on stronger governance, taking on board the tenants’ voice, using better data to make more informed decisions, and on better resourcing all our work. The priority actions are:
- Ensuring every voice matters.
- Establishing the right governance arrangements for effective decision making.
- Providing great homes that are fit for the future.
- Working towards a net zero carbon future.
- Supporting thriving places and communities.
- Delivering an efficient and well-run service
