The Metropolitan Police will sell more than 200 of its operational buildings in the next 10 years.
As tipped by EGi last week, the strategy is aimed at releasing cash to renew and replace 60% of its ageing, largely freehold portfolio, worth £1.5bn.
An initial tranche of 12 properties will be marketed this year including at least eight police stations.
Metropolitan Police Authority member Nicholas Long said this process would then have to be accelerated to hit target.
With a third of its properties built before the 1930s, the Met has been fighting a losing battle with a maintenance backlog now totalling £82m.
Upkeep costs £75m a year.
As many as 100 traditional police stations will be shut and replaced with police kiosks in places such as supermarkets and with mobile police stations.
Non front-line staff will be moved to modern office buildings, while patrol bases for mobile response units could be housed in purpose-built facilities on industrial estates.
The Met said it had “no plans to use PFI further” to deliver the modernised estate it wants.
Outsourcing specialists are also likely to be disappointed.
The Met’s property services director Alan Croney said: “Whether we would ever go down the outsourcing route is debateable, because of its inflexibility and because we must retain ownership of our property.”
Croney said he has yet to appoint disposal agents.
“We will be appointing the London agents who can do the best job on a case by case basis,” he said.
The strategic review includes the Met’s decision to take 10 floors of 15,000-16,000 sq ft each in the first deal at Land Securities’ 30-storey Empress State flagship scheme, SW6.
References: EGi News 24/02/04
