Cornwall Council is carrying out a full review of its estate after finding that it had almost double the amount of office space it needs.

The council has launched an estate transformation programme, which is aiming to make its estate more sustainable.

Over the next three to five years the council is planning to “update its estate to create new fit for purpose buildings which will allow for the modern delivery of services and community facilities in Cornwall’s towns”.

A report, which is due to go before the council’s Cabinet today, states that the council has more than 6,000 assets with more than 3,700 used to deliver council services.

While the estate is seen as a “valuable asset” it also requires resources to maintain and service the buildings.

The report states: “Our estate is too large and expensive to run and maintain and we have too many single-use buildings that no longer support a customer-focused service delivery as effectively as it should.”

It says that the primary catalyst for the programme is the council’s commitment to tackle climate change.

The review will look at factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and renewable energy when assessing the council’s buildings.

In addition the council is aiming to look to the future and moving away from a reliance on buildings and instead focusing on using technology.

And it is also looking to ensure that the buildings it does have can help the communities they are based in.

The report states: “We want to transform our operational estate to be high quality, modern, effective experiences that are focal points in the community and reflect not only the best in working practices but provide inspirational community hubs and creative working environments.”

Cornwall Council’s estate covers 17.2 million square metres of space and in 2018/19 had a net book value of £898m. In 2018/19 the council spent £15m on the estate and another £5m on minor capital works.

The report states that there is currently a backlog of maintenance worth £37m.

It adds: “The huge estate is highly under-utilised, a recent study suggesting that we have almost double the office space we require with excess space all over Cornwall. ”

Initial work has identified 40 assets that the council is likely to sell and that there are 300 buildings and 3,000 assets that need to be reviewed.

The council has received valuations of 82 of the 160 assets which have undergone analysis and valued them at £98m.

When the Cabinet meets today (Wednesday) to discuss the report councillors will be asked to give their approval to the review and provide £1.5m in funding for the programme.