Future of North Somerset Council's Castlewood site to be discussed

A council is due to make a decision about the development of one of its main offices.

North Somerset Council hopes to redevelop its Castlewood site in Clevedon for affordable housing as well as some business premises.

It has been gradually moving out of the premises since May, but a final decision on the future of the building has yet to be made.

Councillors will discuss plans for the site at a meeting on Tuesday.

A consultation in 2022 found 63% of respondents in favour of redevelopment, with affordable housing identified as a top priority.

The council's preferred option is to demolish Castlewood and build housing from scratch on the site alongside some small-scale business premises.

It estimates that would give the council a £6.5m funding boost over the next decade.

Councillor Ash Cartman, executive member for corporate services, said: "The redevelopment of Castlewood will provide homes and jobs that meet the needs of our communities, while also helping deliver current government targets for housing supply.

"We no longer need two large office buildings and our ambition to use our office space more efficiently has sped up since the pandemic and the introduction of home working among our colleagues."

He added: "Funds generated will help to deliver other priorities such as improvements to schools, transport or leisure facilities."

The demolish-and-rebuild option would deliver the most housing compared to other proposals for the site, the council said.

The meeting to discuss Castlewood will take place at 18:00GMT on 10 January at the Town Hall in Weston-super-Mare.

Also under discussion will be plans to select a potential developer and development agreement that would allow the council to retain a degree of control over the site until the building work has been completed.

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