Shropshire Star

Shropshire Council to remain at Shirehall until new premises is built

Shropshire Council is to remain at Shirehall until new offices at a planned town-centre development are completed.

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Shropshire Council will now remain at Shirehall until new premises is built

The announcement means the council will not look for an interim headquarters it could occupy until the new base is built.

The authority wants to build a 'multi-agency hub' as part of plans for a major re-development of the Riverside area in Shrewsbury.

The site would have space for around 200 workers, and the council said it wanted to occupy the offices by 2026 – although as yet there is no firm date over when any of the Riverside project will be completed.

The development throws doubt on how long the council will remain at Shirehall, on Abbey Foregate in Shrewsbury – a building that Mark Barrow, executive director of economy and place at the council said had "failed technically, functionally and economically".

The situation comes after the council had said it wanted to leave Shirehall as soon as possible, with ambitions to sell the site.

It abandoned plans to refurbish the building in 2019, which were already expected to cost more than £24 million.

The latest development means the authority will now have to spend money making sure the building can continue to be used.

Despite the latest announcemen, the council says it will continue to only use the ground, first and second floors of the building, and that fire safety work still needs to be carried out to make sure the building remains safe.

Since the start of the pandemic the majority of council staff have been working remotely.

A statement from the council said: "The pandemic saw a fundamental change in the way that Shropshire Council staff have been working, with most working at home or away from the office over the past two years.

"We have now agreed that ‘remote working’ will continue to be the primary option for those staff who are not in front-line or public-facing roles – meaning that most of their work will continue to be completed away from a council building.

"There will of course be exceptions to this, as some roles and occasions require physical presence in a council building or service.

"As we’ve previously stated, we are planning to leave Shirehall and move to a new council office and multi-agency hub as part of the Shrewsbury town centre regeneration scheme.

"After exploring a number of options, it has now been decided we will continue to use Shirehall until the new hub is ready."

The statement adds: "Office hubs will also continue to be available for staff and councillors to use in other areas of the county, providing desks/office space outside of Shrewsbury for staff who require it.

"This autumn we will make some small improvements to our office accommodation to better meet the needs of staff who use the buildings occasionally for specific purposes and for those who are more frequent users – as well as the needs of councillors.

"With fewer staff using Shirehall, less space is required and only the ground, first and second floors are now available to use. This will also lead to significant savings in the cost of heating and lighting the building.

"And we’ll shortly be completing fire safety work at Shirehall to ensure that the building remains fit and safe for staff, councillors and visitors."