Review of council property vital, says chief executive

The chief executive of a Yorkshire council has warned that an accommodation review is vital to the future of the authority as it faces a multi-million pound maintenance bill for its property portfolio.

Scarborough Council’s chief executive John Dillon said the proposals would cut down on taxpayers’ costs, as well as slash council expenditure.

Scarborough’s historic Town Hall, which has housed civic services for more than a century, could be sold as part of the plans for the accommodation shake-up.

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The redevelopment of the Grade II listed building, which opened in 1901 by Princess Beatrice of Battenburg, is one of the options now being considered by councillors as part of the review.

Other options include injecting over £2m into the site as part of a modernisation scheme, and retaining some civic services, while selling off parts of the building.

Councillors agreed to push forward with the review at a Cabinet meeting this week.

Mr Dillon said: “Cabinet has now given us a clear steer as to which options it would like exploring further and officers will concentrate on pulling together the detailed information needed in the next few months. There will be a wide range of comprehensive studies including viability studies, financial implications and development opportunities. A number of different options and alternative sites across the local area will be fully explored.

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“This review gives us the opportunity to plan accommodation that will meet the future needs of our organisation and other local public sector organisations that may be interested in sharing with us. It is essential that all options fit with our vision to be the best and enable us to provide well run, efficient, effective and value for money services that will best serve the needs of our customers in the future.”

It is estimated that the maintenance of the council’s buildings will be in the region of £5.8m over the next 25 years. Council officers have warned up to £2.6m needs to be spent over the next two years to maintain a minimum standard of accommodation. A further £1.7m would be needed to finance IT upgrades and a shift to electronic filing systems.

Scarborough’s accommodation review comes in the wake of decisions by other local authorities to look to establish more cost-effective headquarters.