Corporate Assets – overview of progress, 2021 to 2026
Renfrewshire Council · 18 February 2026
Back to Leadership Board — 18 February 2026 and its agenda
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 18 February 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Corporate Assets – overview of progress, 2021 to 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Renfrewshire Council manages a diverse and complex portfolio of public assets that support communities, enable the delivery of services in the appropriate places or ways, and contribute directly to the delivery of the Council Plan, Community Plan, our long-term financial ambitions and delivery of our Plan for Net Zero. 1.2 This report provides an update to Elected Members on the ongoing activities within the organisation to support the effective management of Renfrewshire Council’s assets across the broad categories of property, open space, roads, fleet, ICT and housing. Updates on asset investment and performance are regularly provided to the relevant Policy Boards. 1.3 This report highlights key achievements since 2021 across Council services and aligns with our new Corporate Asset Management Strategy which is also being reported to this Board for approval. That report looks forward to the strategic planning for the future and this report looks back at the achievements to date. It also highlights work done across our assets to deliver on our Net Zero goals. In all, asset investment worth hundreds of millions of pounds has been delivered. 1.4 As this report outlines, despite financial pressures, the Council has continued to deliver a broad range of improvements across our asset base and invested in significant programmes to deliver sector-leading technology infrastructure, warm and welcoming new homes, state of the art new schools, a high-
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PUBLIC performing travel network, and safe and sustainable open spaces for everyone to enjoy. 1.5 As part of the rolling programme of Best Value thematic reviews, for 2025/26 Audit Scotland will be focusing on asset management. The timescales for this audit work are currently being finalised with the Council’s external auditors Azets. A wide range of evidence which demonstrates our approach to asset management and our commitment to Best Value is reflected throughout this report. ________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Board: 2.1 note the update provided on the investment and achievements across the Council’s asset portfolio; and 2.2 note that the Best Value thematic audit for 2025/26 is focused on asset management. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Asset management in its broadest sense continues to be a core focus of the organisation, particularly as the Council reviewed how and where services were best delivered in the period after the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, and within the challenging context of the financial and demand pressures experienced across local government in Scotland. 3.2 The Council also has a strong commitment to community empowerment and engagement, relevant in this context to working alongside communities to understand the services that communities need and the opportunities within localities to deliver these in ways that represent Best Value. A range of examples are highlighted within this report including our ‘You Decide’ and ‘Tenants Decide’ participatory budgeting programmes which ensure tenants and residents have a direct say in the investment across a range of assets in their communities, and also through our commitment to supporting Community Asset Transfers, working in partnership with our communities. In addition, our investment in parks and play parks is community-led and co- designed, working with communities, particularly children and young people, to help identify the type of equipment they’d like to enjoy in Renfrewshire’s parks.
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PUBLIC 3.3 As Elected Members will be aware from previous updates to Leadership Board, as part of the refreshed Best Value methodology introduced in 2022, Audit Scotland undertake an annual ‘thematic review’ which applies to all Councils, aligned to the annual audit reporting process and carried out in addition to the rolling programme of ‘full’ Best Value audits. These have previously covered leadership, workforce and transformation. The thematic review for 2025/26 is focused on asset management. 3.4 The Improvement Service recently published a self-assessment checklist for asset management, based on the Public Sector Improvement Framework (PSIF) model which Renfrewshire has used to support our wider self- assessment programme for many years. The key areas within the checklist include assessing the alignment of our Corporate Asset Management Strategy with our Council Plan and other corporate priorities; considering the governance and accountability arrangements in relation to asset management; and reflecting on how the Council works with partners and communities in managing our assets. 3.5 The key achievements outlined in section four of this report align closely with these self-assessment areas and work is also being undertaken by a short-life working group of officers in relevant service areas to further evidence progress, demonstrate Best Value and prepare for the thematic review. 4. Achievements in Asset Management 2021-2026 4.1 The Council’s assets are considered here under six broad headings: Property (excluding housing); Open Spaces; Roads and Infrastructure; Fleet; Housing; and ICT. An opportunity to bring most of our core assets together in a single service arose from the Council’s restructure in 2023 and this has supported joined-up working. There has been considerable investment in our assets since 2021 and the remainder of this report spotlights some of the Council’s key achievements within those six asset categories. Our Property Portfolio 4.2 The Council’s property portfolio, excluding our housing stock, is currently made up of 212 public buildings (including some managed by communities) and 232 commercial buildings (59 industrial, 172 retail and 1 office). Since 2022, the Council has been progressing a Strategic Property Strategy (following a review) which assessed the existing portfolio of buildings owned or leased by the Council and has since widened to assess how buildings are used and to maximise the use of these assets. This has already created opportunities to exit some leases and generate savings as well as helping us maximise utilisation of Council-owned assets. The disposal of surplus
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PUBLIC properties also provided an income of over £800,000 between 2022 and 2025, and further sales are in progress. Other surplus assets have been subject to Community Asset Transfers with 17 taking place since 2019 and 23 applications or expressions of interest currently in the pipeline. Our Sustainable Communities Fund can assist local groups and projects with the costs of taking on such assets. The Council has also agreed budget to refurbish buildings ahead of communities taking them over. 4.3 In addition to the above, the public building portfolio reduced by the removal of leases (Abbey House/Records Store/5 High Street) and the sale of other buildings including Montrose Care Home and the Robertson Centre. Other buildings have also moved towards Community Asset Transfer (CAT) such as the Beechwood Centre and the Falcon Centre. From the original list of public buildings, properties that are connected with housing of residents has been removed from the portfolio and are maintained like other residential properties. Table 1: Public buildings by type Description Number Community Facilities 15 Household Waste Recycling Centre 5 Learning Estate 79 Offices – in use 7 Offices – not in use 2 Self-managed Community Facilities 10 Specialist Facilities 22 Sports Pitches Changing 16 Staff Welfare Facilities 4 Surplus 20 Swimming and Sports 13 Town Hall, Museums & Libraries 19 4.4 As part of our Climate Programme, a number of measures are being implemented to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of our existing public buildings. Our programme of lifecycle replacements upgrades items such as boilers to more energy efficient models, and where building work is being done we aim to build in energy efficient measures. The next phase of work will include the expansion of Building Management Systems across 36 buildings. The next phase will also explore the expansion of solar array on 15 existing systems and the piloting of airgon, clean energy technology across 5 sites, prior to a wider roll out if successful.
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PUBLIC 4.5 One of the flagship programmes of the last five years has been the investment of over £110m in cultural infrastructure as part of our approach to regeneration. An extensive refurbishment of Paisley Town Hall created a modern, state-of-the-art events space, and the facility reopened in 2023. The award-winning Paisley Central Library also opened its doors in 2023, providing a modern, welcoming facility in the heart of the town which provides community spaces, study areas and a vibrant children’s library across its four floors. The £7m investment has created a facility which has already become a crucial community hub and enhanced footfall on Paisley High Street. 4.6 In 2024, Paisley Arts Centre was the next venue to reopen after a large-scale refurbishment, adding new performance and back-of-house facilities, improved sound and lighting and enhanced dressing room and workshop space. 4.7 Paisley Museum is being transformed into a world-class attraction, a home for the town’s outstanding collections and a place that will tell the story of Renfrewshire’s people. Building works will conclude shortly and the museum will move into the Exhibition Fit-Out stage ahead of its opening later this year. 4.8 Renfrewshire Council allocates £5m annually to compliance, repairs and maintenance across the public building estate and £3.5m for capital lifecycle works. Whilst remains challenging, work is prioritised using condition surveys and discussions with other services to target investment. 4.9 From a property perspective, work has been undertaken with HubWest Scotland to establish a routemap to transition the portfolio in Renfrewshire to Net Zero. This collaborative work with other west region local authorities looked at the typology of buildings and set a cost for de-carbonising and upgrading the building to Net Zero. This work will continue in the coming year and 5 learning estate buildings are moving forward with de-carbonisation strategies to assess what can be done. 4.10 The Council’s Headquarters building has been remodelled internally to provide new social work offices to replace the provision at Abbey House. As well as the improved office environment for staff, the public areas have been designed along trauma-informed principles with facilities that are better suited to the needs of children, young people and families. These works will continue in the coming months and years. Internal works have also been undertaken throughout the building to adapt to post-pandemic ways of working, such as providing the facilities for hybrid meetings, break out and quiet spaces as well as better enabling hot-desking. Work also took place to facilitate the move of Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board into Renfrewshire House from the Robertson Centre.
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PUBLIC 4.11 Across the estate, the use of soundproof “pods” has been trialled and implemented with positive feedback received across the services. There are now single, double and quad pods in place across Renfrewshire House and Underwood Road. An Operational Group and a Steering Group has been established to continue to drive this programme forward. 4.12 As part of the rationalisation of the public building portfolio, improvements and re-modelling of some floor plates, including space planning were undertaken to facilitate the moves. 4.13 Officers will continue to roll out the ’New Ways of Working’ across other Council premises including Johnstone Town Hall, the Russell Institute and Underwood Road. Additional space is being created within Unit 5 of Underwood Road to ensure appropriate work and welfare facilities are provided. 4.14 To assist with Assets moving forward, the structure within Facilities and Property Services has changed with further staff being recruited. A new Lead Facilities Manager – Development and Strategy (Assets) has been recruited and the structure has been formalised with a Strategic Facilities Manager (Asset Management and Hard FM) being recruited. 4.15 As well as investing in public buildings, the Council has been able to secure external funding to help local organisations deliver improved facilities. Financial support contributed to the transformation of a former police station in Johnstone into the Station 7 facility run by Active Communities. The Paisley Townscape Heritage and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme 2 provided funding to property owners in a defined part of Paisley for building repairs and shopfront improvements. Learning Estate 4.16 One third of our public buildings portfolio is accounted for by our learning estate, and the Learning Estate Strategy approved in August 2024 sets out the Council’s long-term, data-driven plan for investment in modern, flexible learning environments. The previous School Estate Management Plan delivered a new primary school at Dargavel and additional modular capacity in Bishopton and Dargavel. The learning estate also benefitted from a programme of school kitchen upgrades to facilitate the expansion of free school meals at primary stages, including the installation of full production kitchens which could produce meals to be delivered to other schools. Paisley Grammar School Community Campus (PGSCC) is currently being constructed and is on time and budget with an opening due in August 2026.This is the first Passivhaus school in Renfrewshire. Enabling and
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PUBLIC advanced works have taken place for the new Thistle Primary School in Dargavel with the 800 pupil primary school opening in August 2027. The extension to Park Mains High School continues to be developed with the extension due to be complete in August 2027. 4.17 The Learning Estate Strategy will potentially deliver up to £170m of investment in Renfrewshire schools in the coming years in addition to the delivery of a new build secondary, two new primary schools and a secondary school extension over four years. Longlisting for the next round of projects has been undertaken and business cases developed, and the next focus will be on the Johnstone primary school estate, Johnstone High School and Trinity High School, with community consultation and engagement currently being planned. Our Open Spaces Parks and Playparks 4.18 Renfrewshire’s open spaces include 42 public parks, three country parks, two local nature reserves, 85 play areas and 8 wheeled play areas. Parks and playparks have seen considerable investment since 2021, resulting in over £5m of improvements funded and 47 playparks upgraded across all Council wards to date, with further investment planned over the life of the Corporate Asset Management Strategy. The investment has included increasing the number of pieces of play equipment from 670 in 2020 to 740 in 2025. As noted above, decisions about these investments are led by our communities, who also work with officers to co-design the improvements. 4.19 In addition to Renfrewshire Council’s play and wheeled sports areas, the Council is also responsible for 18 outdoor gym facilities, 16 ballcourts and 6 Multi-Use Games Areas (MUGAs). The outdoor exercise facilities are typically located near play and wheeled sports areas to maximise accessibility and community benefit. The ballcourts and MUGAs are typically located within parks, open spaces or within the grounds of local schools, and will have a phased programme of repairs and refurbishment over the next five years. 4.20 Examples of completed projects include: • Installation of outdoor gyms at Churchill Drive, Bishopton, at Old Road Park, Elderslie and at Thomas Shanks Park, Johnstone; • A refurbishment of play areas at Glebe Street in Renfrew and Barshaw Park, Brodie Park and Jennyswell in Paisley;
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PUBLIC • The creation of dog exercise areas at Park Road in Johnstone, East End Park in Paisley and Robertson Park in Renfrew; • Improvements to the playing surface at Howwood Park; • Improvements to Linwood Skate Park; • Wheeled sports areas at Park Mains, Erskine, at Thomas Shanks Park in Johnstone, at Kintyre Park in Linwood and at Moss Road Park, Bridge of Weir; • The illumination of the Wallace monument in Elderslie. 4.21 Recently, £700,000 of external funding has been confirmed for a new cycle hub, information kiosk, public toilets and landscaping work at Castle Semple in Lochwinnoch, and work should be complete in the first half of 2026. Cemeteries 4.22 In the last five years, a priority for cemetery management has been ensuring the safety of the public and acting upon Scottish Government guidance on memorial safety. The Memorial and Headstone Inspections Policy was approved in 2022 and agreed a regular inspection programme to make sure that our cemeteries and churchyards are safe and welcoming spaces, and over 34,000 lairs have been inspected. 4.23 Further investment in cemeteries since 2021 has resulted in: • Renewed signage in all cemeteries • Drainage works at Hawkhead Cemetery and onto Scotts Road • Improved road surfaces at Hawkhead Cemetery • Upgrade of staff accommodation within Hawkhead Cemetery • Glen Cinema Memorial repairs at Hawkhead Cemetery • Conservation works to Doulton Memorial at Hawkhead Cemetery • Minor drainage works at Abbey Cemetery • Reconfiguration of existing land within Inchinnan Cemetery, providing an additional 118 lairs for burials • Installation of new railings at Hawkhead Cemetery and Abbey Cemetery Assets managed by OneRen 4.24 OneRen manage cultural and leisure facilities on behalf of Renfrewshire Council, ranging from bowling greens to town halls. Table 2 below details the range and number of facilities under management. 4.25 Renfrewshire’s sporting facilities have had significant investment since 2021, with the Council working with partners to deliver improvements and new
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PUBLIC facilities. In 2024, a new athletics track which meets World Athletics accreditation standard opened at ON-X following investment from the Council and Kilbarchan Amateur Athletics Club (AAC). The facility will benefit the local community as well as the hundreds of athletes who train and compete from grassroots to Olympic level. The £550,000 cost included Council funding of £450,000. ON-X has also benefited from the installation of a new hockey pitch which meets the Federation for International Hockey’s standards. Table 2: Facilities managed by OneRen Facility Type Number Public Libraries 12 Town Halls 4 Museum and heritage properties 5 Arts Centre 1 Sports Venues 10 Playing Fields 18 Golf courses 1 Bowling greens 5 Community Centres (managed) 13 Community Centres (community- managed) 9 4.26 A partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association led to the refurbishment of three tennis court locations across Renfrewshire – 4 courts at Park Road in Johnstone, 5 courts plus 2 junior courts in Brodie Park in Paisley and 3 courts in Robertson Park in Renfrew. Further improvements to sports and leisure facilities include: • Structural improvements to changing facilities at Ferguslie Sports Centre, benefiting all the football clubs who make use of pitches; • New changing facilities at St James’ Playing Fields in Paisley; • Upgrade of the changing facilities at the Pavilion in Howwood Park; • Provision of £1m to develop an active play area within the Lagoon in Paisley which will be completed in 2026 and includes dedicated provision for children with additional support needs Our Roads and Infrastructure 4.27 Renfrewshire Council maintains 871km of roads and in 2019 agreed £40m of investment in roads and footways over five years. Works included the resurfacings of hundreds of carriageways and footways and over half a
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PUBLIC million pounds of investment in pedestrian crossings. Renfrewshire has been one of the better performing councils in relation to road maintenance for several years, as evidenced by data in the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF). The Council’s performance in relation to roads maintenance is summarised in Table 3 below, these positions reflect the ranking among the 32 local authorities and the improvements made since the initial investment in 2019. Table 3: Renfrewshire’s ranking on road maintenance, LGBF Year A Class Roads B Class Roads C Class Roads U Class Roads 2019/20 8th 8th 20th 15th 2024/25 2nd 5th 17th 10th 4.28 The Council also approved a further £90million 10-year investment in our roads network in its 2025/26 budget with a focus on improving performance on our C class and U class roads. 4.29 As part of the 2025/2026 Carriageway Surface Treatment Programme, 166,507.80 m² of rural and urban roads were identified and treated using Surface Dressing and Micro Surfacing. Surface Dressing was primarily applied to rural routes, while Micro Surfacing was used in urban settings. Surface treatments provide a preventative maintenance solution by restoring surface texture, improving skid resistance, and sealing the existing road to prevent water ingress. This approach significantly extends asset life and offers a far more cost-effective alternative to traditional resurfacing, particularly for sites that would not meet resurfacing prioritisation thresholds. Almost 90km of road has been resurfaced in the last two years. 4.30 The programme delivered substantial carbon savings (84%) when compared to conventional resurfacing and reduced disruption to road users due to the speed of delivery. Surface treatment methods allow full streets to be completed in a single day, minimising closures and diversions. 4.31 As part of the Councils investment in our road network there has been an increased focus on investing in our footway network recognising the negative impact that poorly maintained footways can have as we encourage our communities to travel more sustainably. Over 120 footway resurfacing schemes have taken place in the last five years covering over 100km.
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PUBLIC 4.32 Architectural lighting improvements have been made at Renfrew Town Hall, Paisley Abbey, Tweedie Hall, Houstoun Square Johnstone, Bascule Bridge, and Wallace Monument. There has also been capital investment in lighting infrastructure in residential areas within Erskine, Kilbarchan, Paisley, Linwood and Houston, and the switch to LED lighting in Renfrew Town Centre. City Deal Investment 4.33 New roads, footways and active travel options have been created to support the AMIDS project. The Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation District Scotland – AMIDS – is a long-term investment in manufacturing innovation led by Renfrewshire Council and now being taken forward as a joint venture. AMIDS has several elements, all of them creating skilled jobs, training opportunities and improved infrastructure, as well as being built for a Net Zero future. The Netherton site at AMIDS is home to two world-class innovation centres – the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre. The site benefits from £7m of investment by Renfrewshire Council and partners in a state-of-the-art, low carbon District Heating Network which generates heat from waste water and produces 90% fewer carbon emissions than traditional heating. 4.34 Work is ongoing between the Council and external consultants to develop the Outline Business Cases for the extension of the District Heating Network at AMIDS and the creation of a new network in Paisley Central. Further renewable energy solutions including a potential windfarm and solar farm continue to be explored through pre-feasibility research, which includes liaising with SPEN around grid capacity and network opportunities and with other local authorities with experience of similar projects. Work is now underway to deliver Tech Terrace, a speculative development providing research and development units targeted at small and medium sized enterprises. 4.35 AMIDS has also benefitted from £38.7m of Levelling Up funding as well as Glasgow City Region City Deal funding to allow delivery of the surrounding infrastructure, ensuring good connectivity between AMIDS and other parts of Renfrewshire. City Deal funding enabled us to create the Renfrew-Yoker bridge, the first opening road bridge to be built across the Clyde. In 2025, the Renfrew-Yoker bridge opened to vehicles and pedestrians and is already a key part of road infrastructure in the west of Scotland with almost 2.5m crossings so far, exceeding all expectations and confirming the value of the bridge to communities on both sides.
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PUBLIC 4.36 Works have commenced on AMIDS South, a £59 million transport project which will connect Paisley town centre with AMIDS and Glasgow Airport. This includes the construction of a new road bridge across Paisley Harbour, a 1.7km gateway route along the White Cart River and a network of roads, cycling and walking links from the town centre train station and bus interchange to AMIDS, Glasgow Airport and Inchinnan. In addition, a new road from Renfrew Road to the bridge crossing will be created which will connect into the new Paisley Grammar School Community Campus. The major focus during the early phase of construction is to complete the East / West link, from Harbour Road to Renfrew Road in advance of the school opening in August 2026. A safe access route from Gallowhill using the underpass on the former railway line will be constructed using £1.5million provided by Transport Scotland. Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 4.37 A just transition to Net Zero requires significant infrastructure to support it. With our partners across the Glasgow City Region, we secured £3.5m from Transport Scotland to rapidly expand electric vehicle (EV) charging points. The investment sits alongside a collaboration agreement between the eight City Region councils, recognising that planning for transportation cannot stop at our boundary with our neighbours. Over 3,000 additional EV charging points will be installed across the region, with final numbers for each authority to be determined once the contract has been awarded in 2026. The work will include installing charging points that are accessible to those who live in flats and can’t easily charge at home, and extending provision to areas which are not currently seen as a priority for the private sector. 4.38 Public EV charging infrastructure has been installed at 35 locations across Renfrewshire providing 148 EV charging bays at sports centres, town halls, community centres and council-owned car parks. 104 EV charging points have also been installed in 16 council buildings to support the roll-out of fleet EV vehicles running on alternative fuels. These installations play a vital role in supporting Renfrewshire’s transition to net zero by reducing transport-related emissions and enabling a greater shift to clean, low-carbon electric vehicles. Active Travel 4.39 Active travel options have been enhanced through City Deal-related improvements such as the creation of a segregated shared cycleway from Bishopton to Glasgow Airport. Bishopton and Dargavel have also benefitted from the completion of a shared footway/cycle link to West Ferry in Inverclyde.
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PUBLIC 4.40 The Council has been extremely successful in accessing external funding and prioritising Council funding towards investment in our active travel infrastructure. Recent examples of these improvements include: • Paisley to Renfrew active travel route; • Dargavel to Erskine active travel route; • Inchinnan Drive to Glasgow Airport active travel route; • Greenock Road Inchinnan active travel route. 4.41 In addition to active travel improvements the Council has also significantly invested in other roads related infrastructure to ensure our road network is as safe as possible for road users and pedestrians. As well as routine maintenance to all of Renfrewshire’s bridges and structures, particular projects delivered have included: • Improvements to Plymuir Bridge to address previous weight limitations; • The transfer of traffic light systems from analogue to digital; • Junction improvements and bus priority measures in Paisley, funded by the Bus Partnership Fund; • Creation of a filter lane at a busy junction on Renfrew Road in Paisley; • A programme of drainage works to address flooding hotspots. 4.42 The Council has carried out significant drainage schemes at Beith Road, Johnstone, Old Greenock Road, Inchinnan and Milliken Park Road, Kilbarchan to tackle areas which were prone to flooding which was affecting nearby properties. We have also carried out full refurbishment of the water pumping station at Rankine Street Johnstone, and roadside ditching programme in rural areas and drainage improvements as part of carriageway resurfacing programmes to address flooding hotspots. 4.43 One of the ways in which the Council delivers on community priorities is through our You Decide participatory budgeting exercise. Residents were able to identify and vote on projects to receive a share of a funding pot and the scheme was launched in 2021 with an initial fund of £1.2m. In total, 2,811 ideas were generated from residents across Renfrewshire. These ideas were shortlisted to 119 projects, with nearly 5000 votes received. Since 2021, 50 funded projects have included the provision of outdoor exercise equipment, lighting improvements, road safety measures, upgrades to walkways, provision of benches and accessibility improvements. For those who had provided feedback in relation to the participatory budgeting process, 65% of people advised that they had never taken part in a Council consultation proves before, therefore demonstrating the effectiveness of the engagement process in reaching those who had not previously engaged in consultation
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PUBLIC and who may have been harder to reach in the past. The #YouDecide campaign received the Community Engagement Award at the Scottish Public Service Awards in 2023. Our Fleet 4.44 In 2023, the Fleet team met with all Council services to understand operational needs and fleet sustainability in order to determine priorities for investment. Our investment in fleet also signals our commitment to Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero. Almost 30% of our current fleet of 320 vehicles - 109 vehicles – run on alternative fuels. The Vehicle Replacement Plan for 2025/26 committed a £3m investment. Depending on the vehicle type, the Council aims to replace fleet vehicles on average every 5 - 8 years and heavy plant on a 10 year life cycle. The investment provided annually supports this asset replacement model. 4.45 As part of the 2025/26 Vehicle Replacement Programme (VRP), a £3 million capital investment was committed. This funding successfully procured 24 specialised operational vehicles, selected based on detailed feedback from the fleet review and internal fleet group meetings across all services. Procuring vehicles with the correct specification has already contributed to: • Improved operational efficiencies across frontline services; • Enhanced O-Licence compliance; • Reduced vehicle downtime, lowering the requirement for costly short-term hire; • A reduction in maintenance expenditure, due to newer and better-matched assets. 4.46 In addition, the programme delivered 33 new electric cars and small vans, supporting the Council’s progress toward achieving Renfrewshire’s Net Zero commitments. The specialised vehicles procured in 2025/26 include, but are not limited to, refuse collection vehicles, road and precinct sweepers, cherry pickers, minibuses, caged tippers and tractors with grass-cutting attachments. 4.47 Funding from Transport Scotland contributed to the purchase of vehicles to replace the diesel fleet and we continue to explore options for further shifts towards alternative fuels as part of our work to reduce transport emissions. 4.48 The Council provides pool cars for the use of staff on Council business and for shorter journeys, a number of pool bikes are also available, as part of our support for active travel.
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PUBLIC 4.49 As well as the actual vehicles, there has been a programme of investment in the technology that supports the fleet. This includes Route Optimisation software and In-Cab technology in our waste collection vehicles, and a Fleet Telematics system which allows for greater oversight of vehicle use across the entire fleet. Our Housing Stock 4.50 The Council is responsible for 12,078 houses across Renfrewshire (as at 31 March 2025). Our Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2021/22 – 2025/26 outlined how investment would be targeted to meet the objectives of the Local Housing Strategy. In 2020 an investment of £100m in a ten-year Housing-led Regeneration and Renewal Programme for Renfrewshire was approved. This included new build housing as well as investment in existing stock, including their common areas and the outdoor space around them. The programme also has a focus on energy efficiency not only to reduce emissions but to keep fuel bills as low as possible. Our housing investment retrofit programme will also see up to 3,500 council-owned dwellings renovated to improve their energy efficiency once the programme is completed. The Council has been awarded almost £5.6m over the last five years by the Scottish Government as part of energy efficiency work, with the bulk targeted at insulation projects in mixed tenure buildings. 4.51 The Council is undertaking the installation of Scotland's largest networked ground source heat pump system in two Paisley tower blocks (Gallowhill Court and Glencairn Court) to replace aging gas heating. The £1.78M+ project is delivering heat pumps in 180 flats, offering more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective heating and hot water, removing gas standing charges. 4.52 Since 2021 there have been 235 new council houses built, at Johnstone Castle (95), Ferguslie (101) and at Auchengreoch Road in Johnstone (39). The development at Auchengreoch Road has won two awards and the development at Ferguslie has won three, including Best Regeneration Project – Residential Award at the Herald Property Awards in 2024. The next two phases of new build Council housing will be 65 units in Gallowhill, and 70 units at Howwood Road in Johnstone, with these sites due for handover in Spring and Summer 2026 respectively. 4.53 Housing stock is also subject to regular investment in internal upgrading, such as the replacement of kitchens and bathrooms, boiler replacement, adaptations to support those with health or care needs, and work to common areas. In the five financial years to 2024/25, the Council spent over £67m on capital improvements to the housing stock, including £21.7m on external
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PUBLIC improvements to buildings, £10.3m on kitchens, bathrooms and rewiring, and £6.7m on heating installation. 4.54 The Council recently launched a Tenant’s You Decide programme, allowing residents to nominate improvement projects across the housing stock which will then be voted on by tenants to decide which attract funding this year. Our Information Technology 4.55 Renfrewshire is one of the best digitally-connected regions in the UK, thanks to the Council’s work in leveraging a once-in-a-generation investment from the private sector in modern full fibre infrastructure. Consequently, 99.6% of Renfrewshire has superfast broadband available. The Council’s own properties have also been upgraded for connectivity - there has been a significant increase in bandwidth available across our learning estate, implementation of Totalmobile scheduling in our Care at Home service, public access wi-fi installed in health and social care settings including care homes, day centres and sheltered housing, and a switchover from analogue to digital telecare, which allowed Renfrewshire to be the first HSCP in Scotland to achieve platinum accreditation for digital telecare services. 4.56 The Council’s ICT service runs a scheduled replacement programme for hardware. Following the disruption caused by extreme weather in 2018, ICT expedited a policy of replacing desktop PCs with laptops to allow a greater proportion of the workforce to undertake remote working, and this assisted with a rapid transition to full home working during the Covid-19 pandemic, mitigating some of the disruption to services. Our current hardware assets are set out in Table 4 below. Table 4: ICT Assets Held as of January 2026 Asset Type Number Desktop PC standard 2942 Desktop PC Enhanced 672 Laptops - Teacher 2729 Laptops - Pupils 1664 Laptops - Corporate 3462 Laptops - Chromebooks 7468 Laptops - Surface Pro 10 Laptops - Enhanced 15 Tablets - Corporate 165 Tablets - Education 2821 Totals 21948
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PUBLIC 4.57 The Council has also produced a business case for Smart Social Housing as one opportunity to exploit the infrastructure investment by extending our wide area network to connect social housing with superfast fibre and allow smart technologies to be deployed in homes by the Council, HSCP and the NHS with benefits for residents from enabling remote monitoring, video care and online appointments. More detail is provided in a separate report to this Board on the Council’s wider transformation programme. 4.58 In recent years, customer expectations on digital services and access to services outwith normal working hours have changed. The Council had already adopted the national MyAccount secure platform and since the pandemic has rapidly expanded the range of online services giving customers round the clock access. More recently, a digital assistant has been added to the customer service capability and our website has been relaunched. All of this is only possible because of the investment in modern IT infrastructure. __________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – No direct implications though the report highlights the scale of financial investment in assets. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – our commitment to delivering Best Value and the most efficient and effective use of our assets is clearly established within our Council Plan, particularly through the Living Our Values strategic priority. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets – this report provides an overview of achievements and developments in relation to the Councils assets and properties. 6. Information Technology – ICT forms a key part of the Council’s Corporate Asset Management Strategy and section 4 includes specific technology updates. 7. Equality and Human Rights – this report has not been impact assessed in relation to equality and human rights as it is a retrospective on council asset investment and for noting only
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PUBLIC 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – the Council’s approach to sustainability managing our asset portfolio is underpinned by our commitment to work towards Net Zero. Specific examples include Paisley Grammar Community Campus and our work on energy efficiency in the Council’s housing stock. 14. Children’s Rights – none, but there are updates in relation to the Learning Estate strategy which directly impact children and young people. List of Background Papers: none __________________________________________________________________ Author: Lisa Fingland, Policy Manager, Chief Executive’s Service Lisa.fingland@renfrewshire.gov.uk