New £50m Durham Council HQ could be sold to university

A council is considering selling its new £50m headquarters having never moved in.

Durham County Council completed building a new base at The Sands in Durham city centre in March to replace its 1960s-built County Hall.

But, after a change in political leadership, the council has been reviewing the planned move.

The review suggests selling The Sands site to Durham University and building a new civic centre at Aykley Heads.

The council said its review has been completed with the final report to be presented to the cabinet on 27 April.

A spokeswoman said the cabinet would be asked "to agree to the sale of the building to Durham University, which is seeking accommodation for use as a business school in the city".

She said the cabinet would also be asked to "agree a business case for the council's office and civic accommodation to be located at Aykley Heads in Durham City, along with office accommodation in Stanley".

A report prepared for the cabinet said the amount the university could pay for the building, which would have room for 1,178 workers, would be confidential.

The report also revealed there had been a £1.2m overspend on the 10,278 sqm, three-storey building, but that would reduce to £600,000 if the council managed to sell it.

Durham University said it had submitted a planning application for change of use, which the council said should be considered by July.

A university spokeswoman said the business school, currently based at Elvet Hill, is "among the leading business schools in the UK, Europe and the world, with a strong emphasis on postgraduate education and industry partnerships".

She said relocating it to The Sands could "increase its value to the economy" and create 153 new jobs.

The planning and construction of the new headquarters on the banks of the River Wear began in 2019 when the council was under Labour control.

But a new coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Independents and a Green councillor triggered the review after taking power following the local elections in May 2021.

Richard Bell, cabinet member for finance, said: "The driving factors behind this work are ensuring that we provide good value for money for the authority and that any decisions we make are in the best interests of the county's residents."

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