£250m vision of new council headquarters
Saturday 9th October 2010, 12:00PM BST.
A £250 million revamp of Telford town centre has taken a step closer to becoming a reality with plans for new council civic offices being submitted to planners.
Developers hope the new offices will kickstart the massive redevelopment of Southwater after the application to build the complex was submitted yesterday.
The front of the buildings will overlook Main Street and Southwater lake, with the ground floor able to house three units which could become shops, cafes, bars or restaurants.
A specially-designed customer area on the ground floor will also house the council’s First Point customer centre.
Council chiefs have been keen to stress the new offices would be built at no cost to the taxpayer, being wholly funded from the sale of the authority’s current civic office site in the town centre to Asda.
It is hoped the 550 staff who would work there would be able to move into the new offices by early 2013 if all goes to plan.
Council leader Councillor Andrew Eade, said: “These are plans that we can proud of, that make a clear statement about the sort of development that we want Southwater to be.
“It will also be a building that will help this council be more efficient both in its running costs and the way that it works.
“The new civic offices will be key to kickstarting the £250 million investment in Southwater that will provide such a boost for the economy and we can do this at no extra cost to the local taxpayer.”
Councillor Eade said the council expected to make savings of up to £100,000 a year on heating, lighting, repair and maintenance costs by moving to the new site and leaving the current 35-year-old civic offices.
The application for the civic offices building is likely to be considered by the end of January.
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