Government Property Strategy 2025 is the headline event of Government Property month 2025 and is an official event from Cabinet Office and Office of Government Property.

08.30 – 09.30 Registration & Networking

09.30 – 11.00 Morning plenary including:

• Chair’s welcome – Cat Charker, Government Property Fast Stream
• Proud Partners in Progress: Supporting the Future of Government Property – AtkinsRealis
• Powering Public Outcomes: A Strategic Vision for the Government Estate – With the Government’s Missions shaping a bold new direction for the UK, the government estate must become a more agile, efficient, and mission-driven asset.
  In this keynote, Mark Chivers will outline the strategic vision for transforming the public estate to unlock value, boost regional growth, and directly support the Government’s long-term ambitions.
  From right-sizing and modernisation to unlocking surplus land for housing and investment, this session will set the tone for a reimagined, high-performing estate that delivers for citizens and communities.
• Raising the Bar: Building Capability Across the Property Profession – Delivering a more effective, sustainable, and citizen-focused public estate depends on the people who plan, manage, and transform it.
  Lynda Rawsthorne will explore how the Government Property Profession is developing the skills, confidence, and leadership of its people – supporting individuals to grow, innovate, and reach higher in their careers.
  This session will look at career pathways, professional development, and how capability uplift aligns with the Property Strategy’s ambitions, ensuring that the workforce is ready to meet tomorrow’s challenges.

11.00 – 11.30 Refreshments and Networking

11.30 – 13.00 Worksessions:

• The Impact of Government Property on Place – a Greater Manchester Case Study – This case study will explore:
  • The benefits of place to a department in choosing its location
  • The benefits to government of departmental co-location in a place, with a skills specific focus
  • The benefits for the place arising from government location

  And how these come together in the project business case and town planning. This will include considering skills, talent attraction and economic development.

• Unlocking the Path to Government Office Estate Decarbonisation –  This session explores strategic approaches to planning and prioritising decarbonisation across estates. Learn how to build compelling investment cases, leverage data to guide decisions, and demonstrate long-term ROI. Discover effective methods for measuring success through operations and maintenance, and review evidence supporting proven strategies. The session also highlights key lessons learned from previous programmes and how these insights are shaping future decarbonisation efforts.
• Beyond Server Rooms: A Smarter, Greener Public Estate – Could one overlooked room in your building be quietly inflating your costs and carbon footprint? This session explores how server rooms, often tucked away in repurposed spaces, are impacting public sector estates more than you might realise. From hidden energy costs and maintenance burdens to barriers in estate rationalisation, these rooms are quietly undermining efficiency and sustainability goals. Whether you’re managing a single building or a national portfolio, this session will help you identify practical opportunities to drive smarter, greener, and more cost-effective estates.

13.00 – 13.50 Lunch and Networking

13.50 – 14.50 Worksessions:

• Smaller, better greener: Unlocking the power of the public estate – A ‘smaller, better, greener’ government estate and the localism agenda are key drivers of the Government Property Strategy, which will require all government departments to review their property needs.  With the overall themes of (i) the condition and maintenance of the public estate and its productivity (2) the estate as a driver of economic growth and (3) efficiency and sustainability becoming ever more important; we’ll be looking at key things to consider as part of a disposal strategy – and some traps for the unwary.
• Heat Networks in Transition: Policy, Practice and Pan-European Learning – As Europe accelerates its journey toward net zero, heat networks are emerging as a cornerstone of sustainable urban energy. This session explores the evolving landscape of heat network development, focusing on the UK’s latest policy shifts, including the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS) and the Advanced Zoning Programme (AZP), and how these frameworks are shaping the future of low-carbon heating.
  The discussion will also address the broader challenge of strategic heat planning at the local level. While district heating and cooling systems often present compelling solutions, their viability depends on a range of technical, regulatory, and political factors.
  Drawing on experience from Germany, the session will highlight how European practice can inform UK efforts to develop resilient, cost-effective heat supply strategies. Aimed at policymakers, developers, and local authorities, the session offers a timely overview of the opportunities and shared learning driving heat network innovation across Europe.

15.15 – 16.00 Worksessions

• Property at the Heart of Infrastructure: Opportunities from the National Infrastructure Strategy – The National Infrastructure Strategy is creating new opportunities – and new expectations – for how government property supports national goals.
  This panel brings together voices from across the sector to examine the estate’s role in delivering better outcomes through smarter facilities management, improved building condition, sustainable operations, and enhanced social value.
  Panellists will unpack practical ways to align property with infrastructure priorities, exploring what’s needed to ensure that the estate not only keeps pace with ambition but actively accelerates it.
• Closing remarks – Mark Chivers

16.00 – 17.00 Drinks Reception & Networking

More details coming soon…