Royal British Legion Industries occupies an island site in Aylesford Kent, comprising 70 acres with aged building stock in mixed use. Mainly residential, part care and part assisted living, but also warehousing, factory and leisure facilities. It also has several tracts of vacant land and a small investment asset. At the point Carter Jonas was appointed the Framework Estates provider, the estate was being run on a tactical basis, reacting to greatest need.

The time had come for a holistic estate strategy and the introduction of the guiding principles for estate management going forward. Carter Jonas delivered an estate strategy that pulled all property data together into one master spreadsheet and with supplemental data we were able to develop metrics to help them measure the performance of their estate.

The Estate Strategy helped to provide prioritisation for estate activity and transformation and the Guiding Principles confirmed the need to regard the estate as a single entity, recognizing that other properties or businesses could be impacted if their requirements are not considered before any major estate change is undertaken. The strategy plots the path for intensification in use and expansion of services.

We are now implementing elements of the Strategy with colleagues in Planning and Development and Architecture to deliver a new care home and a redeveloped residential scheme that meets both objectives of expanded services and intensification of use.