SharePoint Storage & Filing
How CDT’s SharePoint went from 67,760 files across 22 sites to a clean, organised structure · February – March 2026
Before — What We Found (February 2026)
CDT’s SharePoint had grown organically over nearly a decade with no central management. Files were scattered across 22 separate sites, almost half of all storage was wasted on duplicate copies, and heritage media was trapped behind Microsoft authentication — unusable on any external website.
Main document library breakdown
| Folder | Files | Size | Problem | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FINANCE | 53,018 | 40.9 GB | 3 duplicate copies of finance records from different officers | |
| VISITOR STREAM | 4,085 | 38.3 GB | Heritage photos and videos — trapped behind SharePoint auth | |
| WORKING GROUPS AREA | 907 | 23.0 GB | Comrie Heritage Group content duplicated wholesale | |
| STAFF AREA | 5,733 | 13.7 GB | Ex-staff archives with OneDrive sync artifacts | |
| PROJECTS | 152 | 3.9 GB | Active project folders including HCF | |
| PROPERTY | 1,689 | 2.7 GB | Building drawings and assessments | |
| Other (4 folders) | 2,176 | 1.3 GB | CONFIDENTIAL, ADMINISTRATION, BOARD, HEALTH & SAFETY |
Where the 57.3 GB of duplication came from
| Source of duplication | Files | Wasted | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance Officer SD copy | 11,074 | 14.6 GB | Full copy of finance folder by previous officer |
| Finance (SDAWE) copy | 9,381 | 14.5 GB | Second duplicate of the same finance records |
| Heritage Group duplicate | 890 | 23.0 GB | Entire Heritage Group folder duplicated into Working Groups |
| Finance Officer AH copy | 3,254 | 2.0 GB | Third partial copy of finance records |
| Ex-staff sync artifacts | 554 | 1.0 GB | OneDrive created timestamped copies during account migration |
| Cross-folder copies | 2,497 | 2.2 GB | Same documents in VISITOR STREAM, PROJECTS, OTHER folders |
21 satellite sites (beyond the main site)
Over the years, separate SharePoint sites were created for projects and working groups. Ten were completely empty. Eleven had minimal content (98 MB total) — most not touched for years.
11 sites with content (98 MB total)
| Site | Size | Last used |
|---|---|---|
| Board and StaffWorking group documents — not updated since 2020 | 43.4 MB | Apr 2020 |
| EnergyDistrict heating plans, Visio drawings, RWG terms of reference (archived to CDT) | 24.6 MB | Jun 2024 |
| Renewables and ResourcesWorking group documents | 9.5 MB | Jul 2024 |
| GrassWorking group documents — not updated since 2022 | 5.5 MB | Dec 2022 |
| Board of DirectorsWorking group documents — not updated since 2017 | 4.6 MB | Aug 2017 |
| Estates GroupWorking group documents — not updated since 2022 | 3.2 MB | Jan 2022 |
| Strategic PlanningWorking group documents — not updated since 2022 | 1.6 MB | Mar 2022 |
| HeritageWorking group documents | 1.5 MB | Jul 2024 |
| Comrie Community WoodlandWorking group documents | 1.5 MB | Sep 2024 |
| Jail Block TeamWorking group documents | 1.5 MB | Oct 2024 |
| All CompanyWorking group documents | 1.4 MB | Jun 2024 |
10 empty sites (0 files)
Created as placeholders but never used.
What We Did
After — Where We Are Now (March 2026)
CDT document library now
| Folder | Contents | Size | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| PROJECTS | 18 project folders | 3.9 GB | Heritage Conservation Framework, Solar, Museum Roof, CLLD, and 14 others |
| WORKING GROUPS AREA | 8 items | 16.5 MB | Down from 23 GB — duplicates removed, only current docs remain |
| Archived Sites | 1 folder | 11.1 MB | Energy site content preserved before deletion |
| HEALTH & SAFETY | 5 items | 3.2 MB | Current H&S documentation |
Heritage content moved to Cloudflare R2
Photos, videos, and heritage documents now live on a purpose-built CDN that loads fast, works on any device, and costs a fraction of what SharePoint alternatives would.
| Content | Files | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage videos | 31 | 23.4 GB |
| Heritage photos (9 collections) | 2,075 | 5.7 GB |
| HCF assessments + evidence photos | 1,239 | 3.8 GB |
| Blair Urquhart archive | — | — |
Sites consolidated
All 21 satellite sites deleted. Energy site content archived to CDT/Archived Sites/ before removal. The other 10 small sites contained only working group documents (74 MB combined excluding Energy) from groups that are no longer active.
Note: The root Team Site (comriedevtrust.sharepoint.com) also holds operational documents (finance, admin, HR) and was not part of this cleanup. The figures above cover the CDT project site and its 21 satellite sites.
Still To Do
| Item | Detail | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Funding folder consolidation | Script ready to merge duplicate COF folders, delete 8 empty grant folders, and archive pre-2023 grants | Cleaner FINANCE structure |
| Recycle bin clearance | Deleted files remain recoverable for 93 days — recycle bin currently holds ~56 GB | Free quota back to tenant |
| Remove original media from SharePoint | Heritage photos/videos still exist on SharePoint after being copied to R2 | ~33 GB reclaimable |
Data sourced from Graph API audit (February 2026) and live queries (March 2026) · Full audit logs retained