End of an era - Shropshire Council's Shirehall shuts to staff after nearly 60 years

The council said that staff would be working from home until there is space available at Guildhall in Frankwell in the coming weeks.

Public meetings, which have taken place in committee rooms and the council chamber at Shirehall since the 1960s, will continue at the Abbey Foregate building for now, with plans to move them to Guildhall from September.

Shropshire Council has been committed to leaving Shirehall since 2021.

Campaigners, who want the building preserved, have hailed the civic base as a 'modernist icon', but efforts to prevent any future demolition were thwarted when the government granted a certificate of immunity from listing - effectively preventing the building being granted protected status.

It means that once the council has fully left the site it will be able to sell the building and the land to developers - without a requirement for them to keep the historic building in place.

One of the key reasons behind the decision to leave the building is down to its cost - while the authority has also not been able to use the upper three floors for some time due to the potential fire risk.

Speaking in September Councillor Dean Carroll the authority's cabinet member for housing and assets said the decision to leave was not just "practical", but a "moral duty".

He added: "I think we are well past – years if not decades – of Shirehall being a good thing in terms of council offices."

In a statement today, as workers finished their final shifts at the building, Shropshire Council said the closure it vital for the authority's future.

It said: "The closure of Shirehall to staff from today is part of our urgent action to reduce the council’s spending and become the modern, efficient and financially sustainable council we need to be.

"The council had already made the decision to leave the Shirehall as it’s too big for the council’s needs in the future and we’re simply now accelerating that move by a few weeks.

"As such, staff who use Shirehall have been asked to work from home where possible, until space becomes available at Guildhall, Frankwell, in the next few weeks. This is a temporary measure, accelerating our plans to move announced in September, and mirrors steps we took so successfully during the pandemic.

"We expect the first teams to begin moving into Guildhall from 18 November and all moves are due to complete very early in the new year. We expect public meetings to move from Shirehall to Guildhall from December.

"A small number of statutory functions, such as Registrars Services, will be maintained at Shirehall until these can move to Guildhall. Some tenants who use Shirehall will also remain, but vacating space we currently use will allow us to relocate these to other areas and shut down many parts of the building.

"These urgent steps will allow us to make savings on the costs of running Shirehall earlier and further reduce our spend in year. We expect these measures alone will save more than £100,000 this winter through lower heating, lighting and cleaning costs, and the move will provide a suitable headquarters for the council of the future."

Speaking in September about the plan to leave, Councillor Carroll said: "The building is in some ways impossible to modernise due to the fabric of the building."

Shirehall opened in 1966 and was a base for up to 1,000 workers at its height.

Councillor Carroll said: "It was built for a very different kind of organisation, where everyone was coming into a central office and did their work in a defined office."

He added: "We cannot look Shropshire residents in the eyes and say we are reducing services they need but we are not reducing costs on a building we do not need."

Shirehall was opened the Queen Elizabeth II in 1967 and had been designed by County Architect Ralph Crowe.

It was recognised for its value by noted architectural historian, the late Sir Nikolaus Pevsner.

The structural engineer for the building was Ove Arup, founder of Arup – a global multi award winning construction group.

He worked on many world famous buildings, including the Sydney Opera House.