Issue - meetings

RESOLVED THAT:

Council be recommended to :

1.    dispose the Municipal Offices on the open market, in line with our agreed Asset Management Strategy, as the Municipal Offices are now surplus to our operational requirements;

2.    commission a development brief for the Municipal Offices which will take a creative and conservation-led approach to the reuse, adaptation and extension of the listed building, its setting and the setting of neighbouring listed buildings and the conservation area;

3.    on completion of the development brief, to invite bids for development proposals for the Municipal Offices; and

4.    requests that the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets bring back proposals to Full Council for a final decision on its future use and disposal.

The Executive Director for Finance, Assets and Regeneration said the report would be debated and the decision made at the next meeting of full Council. As Members are aware, the future of the Municipal Offices has been discussed for decades, during which time the council has undergone several changes in shape and size, the latest being the outcome of the Covid lockdown and the introduction of agile and online working.  Some internal work has taken place, and the conversation has continued between councillors, working groups and stakeholder groups across the town.  He thanked the Civic Society, Architects’ Panel, Local History Society, Chamber of Commerce, BID and all in the community sector for their input, and hoped that colleagues would support their recommendations.

The Cabinet Member for Customer and Regulatory Services commended the outstanding report, and particularly liked the sequence of recommendations.  He said the Municipal Offices is part of one of the finest terraces in Europe, which the council is committed to preserve, but with empty and underused offices, it is time for the council to move on and the use of the building to change - although sad and a sensitive subject for the town, this is the right path to take.  The development brief will ensure that the heritage and beauty of the building is preserved and enhanced, and encourages the imaginative use of the rear of the building, fit for the 21^st century.

The Leader agreed, with only about 25% of the building occupied by the council, saying it was time that it was revisited in a new way.

RESOLVED THAT:

Council be recommended to :

1.    dispose the Municipal Offices on the open market, in line with our agreed Asset Management Strategy, as the Municipal Offices are now surplus to our operational requirements;

2.    commission a development brief for the Municipal Offices which will take a creative and conservation-led approach to the reuse, adaptation and extension of the listed building, its setting and the setting of neighbouring listed buildings and the conservation area;

3.    on completion of the development brief, to invite bids for development proposals for the Municipal Offices; and

4.    requests that the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets bring back proposals to Full Council for a final decision on its future use and disposal.