Cheltenham Borough Council to sell offices on open market

A council's offices are a step closer to being sold after civic chiefs voted to put them on the open market.

The grade II* listed Municipal Offices have been home to Cheltenham Borough Council for more than 100 years.

However, council chiefs now deem the site surplus to requirements due to home working and fewer staff.

Lib Dem Council leader Rowena Hay said the authority has a "magical opportunity" to put the building back on the map and get it properly used.

She told a council meeting on Monday: "We occupy at maximum 25 per cent of this building but we are custodians of the entire listed building. It needs to be brought back into the whole mix of Cheltenham and Cheltenham's place."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (ldrs), the council said the building's carbon footprint is considerable and it is not accessible for those with mobility issues.

Tory group leader Tim Harman said all councillors recognised they needed to make changes in how the building operates but were uncomfortable with the report as it talks of the sale but does not say where the council is going.

He said: "We might be selling it for something we might later say wasn't entirely the right thing to do. We've got more questions today than we've got answers."

The council voted to put Municipal Offices on the open market by 27 votes in favour to seven against.

A development brief will now be commissioned which will take a "creative and conservation-led" approach to the reuse, adaptation and extension of the listed building.

Once the brief is complete, the council will invite bids to develop the building.

The finance and assets cabinet member will then bring back proposals to full council for councillors to make a final decision on its future.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]