Essex County Council considers base move to save £2.6m a year

Essex County Council could leave its headquarters in Chelmsford after hybrid working left it "virtually empty".

The authority said it could save £2.6m a year on its property bills by moving out of County Hall.

Council leader Kevin Bentley told a cabinet meeting it was important to give taxpayers value for money.

Hybrid working was introduced in September, with workers' time split between office, community, field and home bases.

Mr Bentley, a Conservative, said a decision would not be taken for "a little while yet", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said: "For those us who do come in during the course of the week, the building is virtually empty.

"And that is not just here, that is elsewhere in the entire estate."

A report the council's cabinet said there had been a full-year forecast "overspend" of £5.1m driven by "pressures" within the adult social care and health, and the finance, resources and corporate affairs portfolios.

The £2.6m potential saving would come from savings in the property budgets if the departure from County Hall went ahead.

Council cabinet member Chris Whitbread said: "What I would say is we have mothballed parts of this building already that are underused to find savings and good management is key, particularly as part of our climate change agenda as well."

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