Vision for civic HQ ‘vital to counter cutbacks’

A PIONEERING £44m project to transform one of York’s most important buildings from the Industrial Revolution into a state-of-the-art civic headquarters is being heralded as a blueprint for cash-starved councils from across the country.

York Council’s long-awaited relocation to a new base in West Offices, which were built in the 1840s as York’s original railway station and station hotel, will begin at the end of the year.

The plans were showcased yesterday to representatives from other Yorkshire authorities as well as heritage and construction experts, who were also given a tour of the ongoing development.

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The new council headquarters are seen as a long-term solution to the crippling £1m-a-year rents which the York authority has been paying with its operations scattered across 16 premises in the city.

The money which is being used to rent buildings will instead be ploughed into repaying the £43.8m cost of the relocation project, which is being overseen by the York-based developers, the S Harrison Group.

The conversion of Grade II* listed West Offices has also won the praise of English Heritage and is being held up as a model for both the private and public sector to transform decaying historic buildings.

The design has incorporated a wealth of environmentally-friendly technology, and the building will be heated by biomass boilers and waste heat from computers. The building will be naturally ventilated and will use natural light to help cut electricity bills.

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York Council’s deputy chief executive, Bill Woolley, who has helped to shape some of the city’s most significant developments over the past decade-and-a-half, claimed the West Offices scheme has been the pinnacle of his career.

He stressed that a move to centralise York Council’s operations had always been planned since the authority was created in 1996, but the scheme is particularly timely amid the Government’s austerity drive.

York Council is having to enforce cuts totalling £19.7m over the next two years on annual operating costs of about £124m.

Mr Woolley, who is also the council’s director of city strategy, said: “The arrival of the railways transformed York’s economy, and this building was at the centre of this after it was built in 1841.

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“But its future had remained uncertain until we looked at relocating the council there. Plans to consolidate the council have always been on the cards, but it could not have come at a better time.

“It has fallen into place at a time that the council – like all local authorities – are faced with having to make major savings.

“We have been in discussions with colleagues from elsewhere in Yorkshire and around the country, and we do believe that what is happening in York can be used as a template for other councils. This scheme has actually exceeded our expectations, and it is one that we are unashamedly proud of.”

Scarborough Borough Council officials were among the delegates at the conference to outline the vision for West Offices which was held yesterday in the neighbouring Cedar Court Grand hotel.

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The Scarborough authority is looking to relocate to a new base after it emerged last year that nearly £6m will need to be spent maintaining the cash-starved council’s properties.

A public consultation was launched yesterday after Scarborough Council last month accepted £3m in funding from the Homes and Communities Agency to buy a new headquarters, with the preferred option for a move out of the town centre to Eastfield.

The funding is being provided in exchange for an equity share in the redevelopment of the Futurist Theatre and existing Town Hall sites. The consultation will run until May 30 before the council meets on July 20 to make a final decision.

Concerns have, however, been raised over the relocation of council services in both York and Scarborough.

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Labour councillors in Scarborough warned a move away from the Town Hall could leave a major question mark hanging over such a key site amid the economic downturn.

And fears have been expressed by opposition Tory councillors in York that centuries of civic heritage will be lost forever if the council moves out of the Guildhall, which is due to be retained solely for full council meetings.

The York scheme has escaped the Government’s public sector cutbacks as it will be funded by the sale of council premises and borrowing set off against the cost of existing rents. The project is due to be completed in September, with a phased move of staff and services up until early 2013.