Recommended location is Covent Garden car park site in Leamington
Plans for the relocation of Warwick District Council’s headquarters from its current location at Riverside House to new multi-functional offices in the town centre will be proposed to the council’s Executive committee later this month.
The recommended location for the new headquarters is the site of the Covent Garden surface and multi-storey car parks. The multi-storey car park which is owned and operated by the council is suffering from major structural problems and would require a significant investment of £3 million just to maintain its usability. The council’s plans would see the demolition of the car park and the redevelopment of the whole site, to include the council’s new offices, a new 650 space multi-storey car park and also some much needed new housing.
The planned new multi-storey car park would also include sufficient car parking space capacity to enable Chandos Street car park to be closed and offered as a possible site for redevelopment at a future date.
The scheme will be partly funded by the sale of the Riverside House site for residential development offering a mix of apartments and houses, and apartments on the Covent Garden site. The new offices will cost £8.6m, and will be completely funded by the new housing development. The council will be funding its new replacement car park. The new council offices’ running costs will be much lower than the current offices. Riverside House currently costs the council £580,000 per year to run and the outstanding repairs bill is estimated to be £1 million over the next 5 years. By building the most sustainable and efficient building possible, the council will be able to reduce both its carbon footprint and half its current running costs. It is also anticipated that this major proposal will stimulate significant additional regeneration in the area and the town centre.
Councillors are to be asked to agree these proposals at the Executive meeting on 20th April. The project proposals will then be subject to further final approval in next year once planning permission has been granted, and the detailed development and build costs are known and re-scrutinised as being value for money. If the proposals are then given the go-ahead, building works are likely to commence in the autumn of 2017, with staff moving into the new building in late 2018.
Councillor Andrew Mobbs, Leader of Warwick District Council said "I’m delighted that Leamington town centre will receive this major investment. The proposed new office will be more efficient than the current building which will significantly reduce the council’s running costs. In addition the regeneration work and new car park will ensure that Leamington will continues to thrive as a destination for both business and leisure."
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