We spoke to Paul Higham, Associate Director of Estates at Norfolk and Waveney ICB, to learn more about the challenges his team faced and how we've supported them with bespoke training to build confidence and skill across their estates function.
Can you tell us a bit more about the challenges your team was facing?
Our estates team is relatively small, just seven of us, and none of us came from a traditional estates background. We’ve essentially learned on the job over the past five and a half years, which has meant navigating a steep learning curve.
Each team member had developed expertise in different areas, but we weren’t always sharing that knowledge effectively. So, we decided to flag areas where we felt less confident and explore opportunities for additional training.
The key topics we identified were:
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Financial appraisals
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Planning processes, including Section 106 and CIL
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Building regulations and standards relevant to business cases
Why did you approach us to deliver training?
We’ve had piecemeal training from other organisations before, but NHSPS offers a much broader range of services. It made sense to approach one organisation rather than several, and being part of the NHS also helped.
We weren’t expecting NHSPS to cover everything, but we thought we’d ask - and they delivered.
Were there any unexpected outcomes or insights from the sessions?
Definitely. On the positive side, we realised we were more on top of Section 106 and CIL processes than we thought. That was reassuring and gave the team a sense of pride.
On the flip side, the Building Safety Act was a bit of a wake-up call. We’d seen some guidance from NHS England, but the training helped us understand it more clearly.
We’ve since updated our business case documentation to include a checklist table for Building Safety Act compliance, which has already proven useful when working with GP practices who weren’t aware of the legislation.
How has the training impacted your day-to-day work?
It’s made a real difference. The financial appraisal workshop gave the team more confidence in reviewing business cases and understanding the numbers. They’re now asking more informed questions and relying less on me, which makes our cases more robust and our conversations with finance teams more productive.
The planning and building regulations session reinforced that we’re doing a good job in some areas and gave us valuable insights in others. Overall, the training has helped us feel more confident and capable.
Do you think other ICBs could benefit from similar training?
Absolutely. Every ICB is different, with teams formed from various legacy organisations, so their needs will vary. But the tailored approach NHSPS took with us could easily be replicated for other ICB’s. I’d definitely recommend other ICBs get in touch and explore what’s available.
Any final reflections?
The whole experience has been positive. From the initial conversations six months ago to the final workshop, everything ran smoothly. The NHSPS team were supportive and passionate about the topics they covered, which made the sessions engaging and valuable.
We now know we can reach out to NHSPS whenever we need to refresh our knowledge or explore new areas. And we’d like to think they’ll come to us too, to test ideas and share thinking. That two-way collaboration is key, especially in areas like planning, where every local authority works differently. There’s no one-size-fits-all model but working together helps us stress-test approaches and improve outcomes.
Thinking about estates training?
Norfolk and Waveney ICB found that a few focused sessions made a big difference, boosting confidence, improving collaboration, and helping the team feel more prepared to tackle estates challenges.
If you’re interested in similar support, reach out to your NHSPS Relationship Partner to talk about the ways we can support your team.
If you're thinking about training, feel free to download our Investment Appraisals Workshop info sheet. It gives you a quick overview of what’s involved and how to get started with your team.
