DURHAM County Council could stay in County Hall following a review of its planned move to a new £49.1m headquarters in Durham City centre.

In 2018 it was decided to relocate the local authority’s headquarters to The Sands, in the city, and redevelop its existing site at Aykley Heads as a business park, with the aim of attracting new high paid jobs to the area.

However, the council’s new cabinet – made up of Liberal Democrat, Conservative and independent members following Labour’s loss of a majority at the May elections – this morning agreed to review the HQ plans.

Members agreed that officers should carry out an appraisal looking at alternative uses of the £49.1m city centre building, which is due for completion this autumn, and the site at Aykley Heads, which could be kept as the council’s base, as quickly as possible “to ensure best value and economic benefit from the council’s investments”.

Deputy leader Councillor Richard Bell, cabinet member for finance, said: “The decision to relocate headquarters to the city centre and build it on The Sands was not without controversy and the strength of feeling about that decision still reverberates today.

“It represents a significant financial commitment and it is a complex decision to unpack and reconsider.

“As a cabinet we are keen to get down there and view for ourselves at the earliest opportunity the state of construction as it stands.”

The new headquarters was designed to create a smaller, more modern and efficient building to allow staff to work flexibly and with appropriate collaboration and meeting space.

Staff currently working out of the existing County Hall building that were not planned to be moved to the new headquarters were to be accommodated at other sites across the county. 

A report prepared for cabinet this week states that £49.1 million was allocated for construction of the new headquarters with Kier Property Developments Limited awarded the contract to build it following a competitive procurement exercise.

Work began on site in 2018 and the report explains that the facility is “substantially built” with a target completion date of October this year. 

The Northern Echo:

As part of its initial review of priorities and in setting the strategic direction of the council for the next four years, the Joint Administration is proposing to review the use of the new building as well as considering options for the existing headquarters at Aykley Heads, whilst ensuring a focus remains on creating strategic employment opportunities in the city.

To enable the review to take place, the cabinet agreed to an options appraisal which would include an assessment of opportunities, costs, risks and the implications of any proposals that are brought forward.  

The results of the appraisal will be reported to cabinet no later than September 2021.

The Northern Echo:

Cllr Bell thanked officers for taking on the increased workload which came with the joint administration’s review of priorities and said, despite the tight timescales, the review would be comprehensive and ensure due diligence.

He added: “This broad review will have regard to the working practises of office-based staff and the commercial market for office space in a post-Covid world.

“This joint administration has provided a clear commitment to economic development and regeneration and the review of the HQ will be fully cognizant of any potential impact for the redevelopment of the site at Aykley Heads as well as the wider council area.”