Embarking on a capital development project is a transformative step for any organisation. Whether you are constructing a new building, refurbishing an existing asset, or extending a community hub, these projects require meticulous planning and robust management.
This resource provides a detailed roadmap for navigating the complexities of capital works. It focuses on the critical processes required to ensure projects are feasible, sustainable, and professionally managed. By understanding the lifecycle of a capital project, organisations can better manage risks, secure necessary investment, and deliver high-quality facilities that serve their communities.
What you will learn
This guide provides a technical and strategic overview of the capital development process. Based on the document, you will learn:
- Project readiness: Strong organisational foundations, governance, and clarity of purpose are essential before embarking on any capital development project to ensure you are truly investment‑ready.
- Community Engagement: Early, meaningful consultation with the community and stakeholders helps shape the project, build ownership, and ensure the development genuinely meets local needs.
- Feasibility and viability: Robust pre‑feasibility and full feasibility assessments are necessary to test whether the project is achievable, sustainable, and financially sound over both the short and long term.
- Professional expertise: Using the right mix of architects, surveyors, planners, and other specialists ensures technical quality, informed decision‑making, and due diligence throughout the development process.
- Design and planning: Clear briefs, thoughtful design aligned with business planning, and obtaining the correct planning permissions are critical to shaping a viable and compliant project.
- Financial planning: Detailed capital and revenue planning, understanding VAT implications, securing funding, and building in realistic contingencies are all vital for financial resilience.
- Project management: Effective management, risk monitoring, reporting, and coordination across contractors, funders, and stakeholders are key to delivering the project on time, on budget, and to the required standard.
Who is this for?
This resource is tailored for those responsible for the delivery of physical infrastructure:
- Project managers and leads: Who require a structured framework to coordinate design, construction, and legal requirements.
- Trustees and Board Members: Responsible for the financial oversight, risk management, and strategic direction of large-scale assets.
- Community groups and social enterprises: Planning to acquire, renovate, or build assets through Community Asset Transfer or independent purchase.
- Funders and stakeholders: Seeking to understand the professional standards and milestones required for a successful capital project.
Related resources
Managing your community building
A guide to the effective and sustainable management of community buildings, covering legal requirements, maintenance, health and safety, and building strong relationships with your local community.
Greening your asset and beyond
Practical steps you can take to reduce your asset and organisation’s carbon footprint, whilst contributing to co-benefits such as cost-savings, community education, cohesion and empowerment.
Marketing your community space hire
Unlock your community building’s financial potential with this expert guide to marketing space hire, covering audience segmentation, professional messaging, and strategic booking pipelines to ensure long-term, sustainable trading income.
Maximising use of community assets in a cost-of-living crisis
How do you run an asset that can be used for service delivery while maintaining a viable community business? This session looked at how to make the most of asset space during the cost-of-living crisis.
This feels like the eternal question for asset owning community organisations. However, as the cost-of-living crisis deepens, finding the balance between service delivery and sustainability has become even more of a challenge. This session looked at how to make the most of asset space during the cost-of-living crisis.
We heard from community organisations who are currently tackling this issue. We also heard from Wrigley’s Solicitors about how best to “flex” your assets and the legal considerations.
- Fran Etherington from the The Old Fire Station, Leeds, told us that room hire remains a core part of their income generation model. They believe forward planning has been essential to their sustainability through the cost of living crisis. They put strong financial planning procedures in place during covid, agreed to fixed utility rates before the crisis fully hit, and have loyal tenants.
- Laura Moss of Wrigleys Solicitors discussed the legal considerations of using assets in different ways. “it is important to have flexible legal structures so the organisation can adapt and exploit new opportunities”
- Megan Ohri from SOAR, Sheffield, explained how they have tapped into the desire of tenants/ users to make more ethical choices. They have been able to use the fact they are a non-profit, with green credentials, that provide warm spaces to work as a unique selling point.
Energy efficiency for community buildings: Quick wins checklist
Use this checklist to identify quick actions to cut energy bills, reduce carbon emissions, and make your community building more comfortable.
Writing a Business Plan for a Capital Project
This guide is designed to help you develop a business plan for acquiring and/or refurbishing an asset.
While a strong business plan can help secure support and funding, its primary purpose is to guide your organisation’s development and planning.
The guide is especially useful for those unfamiliar with writing business plans, offering clear explanations and outlining the key elements needed for a successful project.
It also highlights funders’ expectations and provides advice on presenting information clearly and accessibly, avoiding jargon. Supporting details can be included in appendices, and the final section focuses on the criteria funders typically use when assessing project proposals.
Assessing the feasibility of a community asset project
This resource provides guidance on assessing the feasibility of acquiring or refurbishing a building or land asset. It emphasises that feasibility is an ongoing process, not a one-time task, and should be revisited throughout development.
The resource highlights the importance of asking challenging questions early, as many later-stage issues stem from inadequate feasibility assessments.
A thorough feasibility process also strengthens funding proposals by showing a well-reasoned development approach.
Engaging professional advisors when acquiring or adapting your building
Successfully appoint and manage professional advisors, such as architects and surveyors, ensuring capital projects are delivered on time and within budget when planning the acquisition, development, or adaptation of a community building or land.