Long-awaited council re-location moves a step closer

Richmondshire District Council is hoping to transform the former Richmond Lower School site into a new headquarters after its existing offices have been deemed unfit for purpose.

The £1.5m scheme would also create a community facility for the town, with voluntary and community groups based on the same site as the council.

The Department for Education has now given the go ahead for the site to be decommissioned as an educational building, ensuring that the long-awaited move can progress.

The district council is about to embark on negotiations with North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority which owns the Station Road site.

The possibility of centralising the council’s operations was first mooted in the 1980s. If the project goes ahead, it would be the first time in the council’s 38-year history that services have been brought together on one site.

Council leader John Blackie said: “For the first time we will be able to create fit for purpose offices for our staff and councillors to work from. And an added bonus will be providing a Community House, where a number of voluntary and community organisations serving Richmondshire are intending to co-locate. It’s a massive benefit to the council, its staff, many of the various community groups in Richmond – and the town.”

Council officers have already drawn up plans for the scheme, which will be funded from the sale of the existing council buildings. The proposed move would mean the authority’s offices at Swale House, Frenchgate and Friars Wynd – as well as the Richmond Community Office – close. Rooms, including the impressive Grade II* listed Grand Hall, would also be available for hire for conferences and weddings.

But the planned relocation has been beset by delays and controversy. A previous scheme detailed a £4m move to a business park three miles out of Richmond town centre. But campaigners voiced fears jobs and open spaces would have been lost if the move to Colburn had gone ahead.

The proposed move to the former Richmond Lower School site has been planned for the last year. It became vacant when the lower and upper schools moved onto the same site in a £30m redevelopment.

A deal with the county council would see the district council initially rent the vacant premises before purchasing the site when funds become available. The district council is due to debate the plans in either July or September, and if agreed, the move could be completed next year.