Bidding for Telford & Wrekin Council’s up-for-sale civic HQ closed today with bosses revealing there has been huge interest in the town centre property.

The offices and the 860 employees based there will be relocated to another site if the sale goes ahead but no new location has yet been revealed.

Offices, residential, leisure, retail or community have all been put forward as potential uses for the Civic Offices site which lies in the Southwater area of Telford Town Centre.

Councillor Andrew Eade, council leader, confirmed that bids had closed today and added: “Agents acting for us in this sale have received a large number of inquiries and initial analysis shows that we have a number of strong bids.

“This shows, despite the current talk of recession, that Telford and Wrekin remains a very attractive prospect for the business community and is one that they can see a vibrant future for.”

Councillor Shaun Davies has called for the council to move to Dawley.

He said moving the prestigious base out to Dawley could give the town a much-needed cash injection of up to £1 million in trade.

“Dawley was the home of the old council headquarters and I think it is fitting that a new civic centre be built there,” he said.

“The council staff would bring a lot of trade into the town and I believe it could be as much as £1 million,” he added.

Councillor Eade said a plan for new offices and where they would be located would be produced as the sale proceeded and added: “At this stage we are keeping all our options open.”