Plans for a plush new Telford & Wrekin Council civic headquarters are set to be given the green light next week.

Members of the borough council’s plans board are being recommended to approve the proposal, which will see the new offices built in Southwater. A five-storey building made up of three wings around two atria is proposed and permission is being sought to have space on the ground floor.

This space will be for a restaurant, shops and a First Point, one-stop-shop for council services, as there is currently at the authority’s existing Malinslee House headquarters.

Malinslee House has been sold to supermarket giant Asda which is to move to the site from its existing site in Telford Shopping Centre.

The plans going before the councillors next week also cover public space next to Southwater Lake which is to be drained, infilled and replaced by a lake nearby.

New civic offices are a cornerstone of £250 million plans to regenerate the Southwater area and create a vibrant heart in the town, complete with shops, restaurants and new homes.

A report to next week’s meeting by Michael Barker, Telford & Wrekin Council’s head of planning, says it is anticipated the new offices, if approved, would be occupied in early 2013.

The report adds: “The proposed civic offices form part of a masterplan designed to create a vibrant new heart for the town centre, integ-rating the International Cen- tre, existing leisure complex and other existing town centre uses including Meeting Point House, the library, hot- els etc, with entertainment, leisure and night-time uses.”

The new offices will form the southern edge to the new Main Street in Southwater, approved last month. Main Street will provide the spine of new routes and spaces through Southwater.

Directly opposite the northern façade of the building and fronting Main Street are the leisure activities associated with the bingo club and ice rink.

Plans board members are recommended to approve the plans, subject to conditions.