Single building bid to save taxpayers’ money

COUNCIL chiefs in Sheffield yesterday announced plans to move most of their staff in to one building in a scheme to save millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

Sheffield Council took over the old Manpower Services building at Moorfoot when staff from two Government departments relocated to new offices in the nearby Peace Gardens area.

Since the move last summer, the council, which owns the building, said it planned to make “temporary use” of the offices for some staff, but added that this strategy has now changed.

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The authority said it would save at least £34m over 10 years by moving 2,600 staff into what it said was currently “redundant” space, with savings likely to be higher when other costs, such as energy, were into consideration.

The council’s cabinet member for finance, Councillor Bryan Lodge, said: “There are a number of reasons why we need to make some significant changes to our office space, but doing nothing is not an option.

“One of the biggest factors is our need to reduce costs. Funding reductions mean we have less money to spend on accommodation, while inflation would inevitably lead to our costs continuing to rise, even if we made no changes.

“Alongside this, a number of leases on existing buildings are due to come to an end over the next four years and it makes sense for us not to renew these, as by doing so we would tie ourselves to potentially costly properties for long periods of time.

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“By reducing the number of buildings we use, we will also significantly reduce our carbon footprint, minimising our environmental impact.”

The future use of Sheffield Town Hall is also being considered.

A council spokesman said a document called Vision for the Town Hall is currently being prepared with “options to be brought forward for consideration by members at a later cabinet meeting”.

There were plans to demolish the Moorfoot building and redevelop the area as a business district, but they failed in the economic downturn.