Location Appraisal

Having prepared a detailed specification of requirements, the next step is to instruct consultants to undertake a search for a suitable location.

• Location Search
• Location Report

Guidance on Location Choice: Choosing Locations for Government Business sets out how Government departments should take account of regional economic balance considerations when choosing locations for work being transferred out of London and the South East. It explains the details of how departments should reflect Government policy in the decisions they make about new locations for their business.
The guidance does not attempt to provide a list of places that will be suitable for public sector relocations.

Further information is available from the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).

Location Search

The specification of requirements  should be used to appoint and brief property advisers who will carry out a search for a suitable location.
 
There should be an initial sieve of locations based on primary criteria and then a second review based on additional criteria. At the end of this, the consultants should have a short-list of four to six areas for detailed examination and comparison.

The criteria used should:

• be objective and comparable,
• be simple to apply in the initial sieve,
• cover what an area has to offer the department and the staff,
• be weighted to reflect relative importance, and
• reflect the prioritsed location requirements contained in the brief for the relocation

The scope of the property search will differ depending on the brief, but it should usually cover a number of sources. These include:

• the property adviser's database,
• local authorities,
• institutional and private property owners, and
• information on property already on the government estate from OGC.

Location Report

Once the search has been completed, the property advisers should provide a report to the department on the four to six areas which fit the brief. This report should contain:

• the results of their evaluation against the location criteria,
• an assessment against these criteria of the current location as a benchmark against which to measure the alternative locations, and
• an initial financial appraisal comparing the cost of moving to the identified locations.

In making a final decision on preferred location, it will be important to bear in mind any trade-offs that may need to be made between the objectives of time, cost and quality. The prioritisation of relocation objectives should aid any decision.